The Outcast of Slytherin
by justatallgirl
Summary: Outcast: a person who has been rejected by society or a social group. That's the title that Lauren Dixon has been given since the moment she got to Hogwarts. Planning on spending her 7th year alone as she has all the others, Lauren may be in for a bit of a shock by what her last year has in store for her, especially if one of those things includes falling in love.
1. Chapter 1

Outcast of Slytherin

 _AN: Hi, this is my first fanfic that I've ever written (the first writing that I've ever done really). I've had this idea floating around in my head for a while and decided I might as well try to write it down. It's going to be Remus/OC fic during the Marauders era, and I'm not planning on making it a huge novel, just a short story. Anyway, read and let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions!_

 **Chapter 1: Introductions**

People everywhere, bustling back and forth, paying no mind that they're jostling each other around and bumping into other people's luggage. Kids saying goodbye to parents, some of them with stiff nods and cold gestures, others hugging and making promises to write every day that they obviously won't keep. People sweating and mumbling curses under their breath as they drag their luggage up onto the train. I take it all in with a small smile on my face as I stand by myself on the platform, having just crossed through the wall to get here.

Platform 9 3/4. The way that all students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry get to school on September 1st. This is my seventh year seeing it, but each year it always instills a sense of excitement in me for the upcoming school year, along with some small disbelief that I'm actually a witch that gets to attend such a place. As I'm the first and only person in my family to be a witch or wizard, there is still that shock factor that magic actually exists in the world. The only downside to being the only witch in the family is that it still kind of freaks my family out a little bit, so I don't really get to see, let alone use, magic in the real world. Not that my family isn't supportive. My family is great and they really don't care that I'm a witch. It just startles them a lot more than a normal witch or wizard when I suddenly apparate in front of them or make the vegetables chop themselves when I'm making dinner. That's mostly why I told my parents they didn't have to accompany me to the station this year. I know they would gladly help me, but I don't like making them uncomfortable if I can avoid it, and being surrounded by witches and wizards definitely makes them uncomfortable. This is why Hogwarts a bit of an escape for me, as it's really the only place I feel comfortable enough to use the magic that such a big part of who I am.

As I'm standing there, lost in my own thoughts, I suddenly get almost knocked off my feet by someone ramming into me. I quickly catch myself and turn around to check on the other person, where I'm greeted by a cold face with a head of pale, almost white blond hair. I immediately stiffen as I recognize this person as Lucius Malfoy. One of the Slytherin Golden Boys. His face immediately shifts to a sneer of disdain and he dusts his robes off, as if the very thought of touching me disgusts him.

"Watch where you're going Dixon," he says to me, as if I was the one who ran into him. He then walks off before I can respond. "Sorry for existing, Malfoy…" I mumble to myself, as I grab my luggage and walk towards the train, trying to avoid getting ran over by anyone else. Even though it mildly shocked me that Lucius actually had addressed my name (although it was just my surname), I really shouldn't have been surprised that he knew who I was. After all, we are in the same house. Not that I ever interact with him, or any of the other Slytherins really, besides being insulted or hexed. I was considered the "outcast of Slytherin," as I didn't particularly get along or share ideals with anyone in my house. I was a muggleborn, which made me the oddball right away, but that possibly could have been overlooked by my fellow housemates had I decided to embrace the cruel attitudes and disdain for the other houses that many of my peers have. However, that's not who I am, which my housemates quickly realized, and they shunned me only a couple of weeks after I first came here at the age of 11. At this point, many people would have just befriended students in other houses, but the fact that I was a Slytherin turned most people away, and my general shy nature and inability to talk to people got rid of the rest of my prospects. This left me to be pretty much a loner. Of course there were few people that I would interact with, but they would be considered acquaintances at most. Most of the time I don't mind my loner status, but sometimes, like right now as I make my way through the other students finding their friends and mingling, I find myself wishing that either I was friendlier and more outgoing or that I hadn't been placed in Slytherin. I often wonder why I was placed in that house in the first place, but I guess the hat had its reasons. " _Maybe it's just because I said I really liked green"_ I think to myself with a small snort of laughter as I climb onto the train and find my way to an empty compartment. I throw my luggage onto the rack and take a seat next to the window, as the train whistle blows and the remaining students on the platform start to board the train.

Many students start to turn into my compartment, but then backtrack and keep moving down the aisle as they realize I'm sitting there. Some students that couldn't have been more than fourth years even leave my compartment in a rush as they realize who I am. " _Damn, my reputation really must be spreading if the fourth years from another house think I'm a pariah,_ I think with a roll of my eyes. Yea, what makes my outcast reputation worse is that although I already have the stigma of being a Slytherin and being a loner, which segregates me enough, is that the other Slytherins like to strike the fear of God into anyone that would dare to befriend me. There had been a few brave souls who had tried over the years, but the other Slytherins would prank and bother them so much that they would eventually keep their distance. Not that I could blame them. I appreciate the fact that they had tried at all. What I didn't understand was why the other Slytherins had to make sure I was a complete outcast, not just shun me from my house. I hadn't ever done anything to them to make them hate me, besides existing, but I guess that was something I would never figure out.

I sat quietly with my own thoughts as the train started to move away with my compartment still empty except for me. I left the door open in case in first years who didn't know better yet needed a place to sit, but none had come by so far. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of bright red pass by, which then quickly returned to the doorway. I turned to see Lily Evans looking at me with a smile. 

"Hey, Lauren! How are you?" she greeted me as she stepped into the compartment and took a seat. Lily was one of the few acquaintances that was actually nice to me and would voluntarily start a conversation. We had first spoken when we got paired up in potions and had actually worked quite well together, much to both of our surprise. After that she had decided that she didn't mind to speak to me and actually went as far as to keep me as her partner in Potions class. Had it been anyone else, they immediately would have been attacked by the Slytherins, but they generally left her alone, simply because she was "The Lily Evans" who took absolutely no shit from anyone, which I admired about her.

"I'm just fine Lily. How are you?" I said with a small smile of my own.

"Great actually! I got Head Girl this year!" She said with a wide grin that immediately made me smile just a bit more. "I don't think anyone doubted you would get Head Girl, Lily, but congratulations none the less!" I said.

"Thanks anyway!" she said with a small laugh. Her face suddenly took on a more somber look. "Only drawback is that Potter somehow got Head Boy, so now I'm stuck with him in close quarters for the rest of the year," she grumbled out.

I couldn't help but laugh a little at her disgruntled expression. James Potter was head over heels in love with her, which most girls would be ecstatic about, and she was upset to be anywhere within a 20 foot range of him. "Well, Lily if anyone can handle him, I'm sure it would be you," I said. "I am honestly a bit shocked Dumbledore picked him though, if I'm honest. I would have picked Remus out of any of the Marauders," I mumbled out thoughtfully.

"My thoughts exactly, Lauren. Well, I've got to get up to the front compartment to brief the prefects, but it was nice talking to you. I'll see you in Potions, yea?" she said as she got up to leave. I mumbled a "sure, see ya" as she left, but my mind was on something else at the point, that something else being Remus Lupin.

Remus Lupin. One of the four Marauders, the most popular guys in our year and in the school. Remus, along with the other Marauders, including Sirius, James, and Peter, ran the school with their pranks and general charm. As a Slytherin, I was supposed to hate them and everything they stood for because they were Gryffindor and we were usually the targets of their pranks. However, I honestly thought they were brilliant. The pranks they came up with were hilarious and intricate, and I wish I could see what they go through to make their pranks work.

I suspected Remus was behind more of the difficult magic behind the pranks, as he was the brightest of the four. That's what had made him the most attractive in my mind. He was extremely smart, but didn't act like he was, and the teachers all loved him. He also was a genuinely nice person and I often saw him helping out younger students in the library when I was in there studying. And while he wasn't the most handsome of the Marauders (that title belonged to Sirius), he definitely had enough boyish good looks to make any girl giggle and blush. That how he had become my secret crush of sorts for the majority of my time at Hogwarts. I had never talked to him of course (outcast remember?) but I did enjoy admiring him from afar and having the occasional daydream about him.

With Remus on my mind, I decided to give in and I let myself daydream over him and various scenarios of him meeting my eyes across the Great Hall and falling madly in love with me (what can I say, I'm a sappy 17 year old girl. LET ME HAVE MY FANTASIES) for the remainder of my journey, anxiously awaiting our arrival that would mark my last year at Hogwarts.


	2. Chapter 2: Staring

**Chapter 2: Staring**

I managed to make it all the way to the Great Hall for the feast without being taunted or hexed by anyone, which was a feat unto itself. I quietly found a seat at the far end of the Slytherin table, pretending not to notice how the students closest to me quickly scooted farther down the bench away from me. " _God, you would think I smelled like hippogriff dung the way these bastards react to me"_ I thought. I then gave a discrete sniff to make sure that she didn't actually smell like dung. And then proceeded to promptly scold myself for acting like an idiot. " _Of course you don't stink you dumbass. Stop acting crazy. These people already hate you enough. No reason to make them think you need to be put in the loony bin as well."_ My thoughts were interrupted by Dumbledore beginning his speech and the first years being herded into the Great Hall.

" _I swear, they get smaller every year,"_ I thought with a smile. The sorting of the first years was always so fun to watch, as I remembered getting sorted like it was yesterday. " _Hopefully none of these guys end up getting shunned from their houses like me,"_ I thought a little bitterly. I quickly shook off the bitterness as the first kid to be sorted into Slytherin was announced. I clapped with the rest of my house as the small blonde girl quickly made her was over to the table. Surprisingly, she walked past everyone else and sat across the table from me. I looked at her a bit shocked that she had willingly approached me, until I realized that the only open seats were around me. I kept looking at the girl as she looked around the room apprehensively and avoided everyone else's eyes. She reminded me a bit of myself at that age. " _Shy, nervous, a tad skittish_. _God, replace the blonde with brown hair and it's almost like looking into the past."_

I watched the girl as the rest of the first years were sorted and the feast began. She jumped as the food suddenly appeared in front of her and I couldn't help but laugh. The girl looked up at me as I laughed and I smiled and said "Don't worry, you get used to it after a while." The girl blushed and looked down, but I could tell she was smiling. I held my hand out across the table. "Lauren Dixon, 7th year. I take it you're muggleborn?" The girl took my hand shyly and mumbled "…yea. All this…" she waved her hands around in front of her, " ...magic, I guess, still startles me a bit…I'm Natalie by the way."

" _Seriously, I think I may have a sister I didn't know about. This girl is me 6 years ago."_ I smiled at Natalie again. "I'm muggleborn too. Don't worry, you'll adjust quickly. It's quite fun once you get used to it," I said with a smirk. Natalie smiled at me and started eating her food. We quietly chatted and I told her about life at Hogwarts. As we talked I noticed her relaxing and becoming more and more excited about being here. " _Well, at least I can relate to kids. Even if I can't talk to people my own age."_ At that point the prefects started sorting everyone out to head up to their common rooms. I got up to walk Natalie over to the rest of first years, when I noticed that she had tensed up again and the fear was coming back into her eyes as she looked at the rest of the first years. I quickly bent down and looked her in the eyes. "Hey, don't worry. You seem smart and friendly enough. You're going to make plenty of friends here. And you obviously have the magic skills it takes to get here," I said with a small smile. "Just be friendly and the rest will follow. You'll do great." Natalie relaxed slightly and nodded her head with a smile and squeezed my hand gently before following the rest of the first years out.

" _Hey, for someone with no friends, that was pretty good advice,"_ I thought as I straightened up, watching Natalie walk out the door. As I turned to head back to the table, I noticed someone standing near me. I looked over to see the one and only Remus Lupin looking at me. " _OH MY GOSH HE HEARD MY LITTLE SPEECH. SHIT, HE PROBABLY THINKS I'M PATHETIC AND THE ONLY PEOPLE I CAN GET TO TALK TO ME ARE FIRST YEARS. WHICH IS TRUE BUT I DIDN'T WANT HIM TO KNOW THAT. SHIT SHIT SHIT."_ His head was slightly tilted as he looked like he was trying to figure something out. I stared back at him silently, just waiting for him to start making fun of me.

But he didn't. He just stared with that cute little slight head tilt. _WHY IS HE STILL STARING?! FUCK, WHY AM I STILL STARING?! SHIT, NOW HE THINKS I'M SOME SORT OF WEIRD FREAK WHO STARES CREEPILY AT PEOPLE. SAY SOMETHING DAMMIT, ANYTHING!_ I screamed at myself in my head, but nothing came out. All I could manage was to tear my gaze away from him finally and scurry back to my table, grab my stuff, and quickly find my way out the door, not even glancing up to see if he was still staring.

/

I managed to make my way down to the Slytherin common room and sneak into the girl's dorm without anyone stopping me. I barged through the door and glanced around, happy to see that no one else was in here yet. I immediately shut the door and start pacing.

" _Remus Lupin was staring. At me. For more than a brief second. WHAT THE HELL. WHY?"_ I started pacing faster and begin running my hands through my hair in agitation. " _He obviously heard my little speech to Natalie and thinks I'm pathetic."_ I groaned out loud at that thought and began to picture Remus staring at me again. " _…but he didn't really have a pitying look. No, just a mild interest. Like he was trying to figure me out or like something was bothering him."_

" _Maybe he was just looking…?"_ I couldn't help the snort of laughter that came out at that thought. _No way in hell. Remus Lupin does not "just look" at girls like me. I probably have something on my face…"_

"SHIT," I yell as I scramble over to the mirror to make sure there wasn't actually anything on my face. I sigh in relief as nothing seems out of the ordinary. As I check my face for anything that isn't supposed to be there, I quickly scan over my features in the mirror.

Roundish face with a decent amount of freckles covering it and green eyes staring back at me. Long brunette hair falling messily around the whole picture and continuing down my back. I then backed up to take in the rest of my appearance as I turned side to side in the mirror. Long and lanky body with very little curves was still there as it had been that morning, still in the same old comfortable jeans and t-shirt. Nothing unattractive or repulsing about the whole picture, but nothing special. It was all just...average. The only thing that mildly made me stand out was my height, as I was tall for a girl, even taller than some of the boys. But that one unique thing didn't really make me stand out. _Especially enough for a guy like Remus to stare at me,"_ I thought to myself.

" _Ok, so he didn't seem to be pitying me, I don't have anything on my face, and Remus just looking to look is basically impossible…. So why was he looking?"_ I groaned out load again as I realized I was never going to get anywhere with this. So Remus had stared at me. Big fucking deal. _Ok, so I might have almost swooned and my heart may have fluttered a bit, but that's beside the point. I don't know why he did it and it doesn't really matter, so I might as well get over it._ With that thought, I promptly shoved all thoughts of Remus out of my head and began unpacking my things. As the other girls made their way into the room, ignoring me as usual, I quickly changed into my pajamas and got into bed, ready for my last first day at Hogwarts.


	3. Chapter 3-Wrong Place, Wrong Time

_A/N: Hey guys! I hope you all are liking the story so far! Thank you to those of you who have followed, favorited, or reviewed. I really appreciate it! I know I haven't had much Remus/Lauren interaction yet, but I promise its coming! Anyway, here's the next chapter and as always, read and review if you like! I'm always open to opinions and suggestions._

 **/**

 **Chapter 3: Wrong Place, Wrong Time**

My first week of classes went by rather quickly. Being at NEWT level meant I could take as many or as little classes as I desired, but as I was on the Healer track, my load was pretty heavy. I already had several large assignments due, so I had been in the library every day after class researching and attempting to stay on top of things so I could avoid pulling the dreaded all-nighters.

I had only seen Remus a few times since what I had now dubbed as "The Incident." Most of them had been brief glances at a distance. The only time I was anywhere close to him was in DADA class and Potions, and he hadn't done anything out of the ordinary in either of those. I had decided that "the Incident" was just a weird one-time thing after he went back to his normal behavior. Which was not knowing I existed. Whether I was relieved or disappointed at that fact was yet to be determined.

On Saturday I woke up earlier than most of the other students and made my way down to the Great Hall to grab some breakfast, intending to spend most of my day in the library finishing up my assignments. Munching on some toast as I walked towards the library, I only met one other student, which made me tense up until I realized it was just a younger Hufflepuff. Only then did I realize that I had automatically reached for my wand and I now had it gripped in my hand. I quickly let it go as if had burned me and the Hufflepuff gave me an odd look as he passed. _Great, now on top of outcast and crazy person, it's going to get around that I have a twitch._ I avoided eye contact and continued on my way.

Really, I shouldn't be blamed for being so jumpy. I generally had to avoid being alone in hallways as that's when the Slytherins usually managed to corner and humiliate me. They never did anything horribly serious, but when one has to spend a weekend with Madam Pomfrey covered in boils that are rapidly multiplying, it tends to make said person a little wary of deserted hallways, to say the least.

Thankfully, no boils or other maladies befell me on this trip and I made it to the library in one piece. I quietly found a table in the very back corner that pretty much no one but me used, except for couples trying to find a quiet place to snog. Which I, unfortunately, had stumbled upon several times over the years. _About had to burn my eyes out after I walked up on the last couple I interrupted,_ I thought with a small shudder. Shaking those thoughts out of my head, I sat down and got to work.

/

Several hours later, I straightened up from where I had been hunched over the table with a grimace. _Finally,_ I thought, with a glance out the window. I was shocked when I saw how low the sun was in the sky and I checked my watch. _Bloody hell, it's almost dinner time. I've been in here all damn day._ My stomach rumbled loudly in outrage that I had accidently skipped lunch. I quickly gathered my things and left the library, planning on dropping my things off in my room before I went to dinner. Distracted by my hunger, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. Hence my shock when I collided, rather forcefully I might add, with something. I was knocked backwards onto my rear as I saw something black fall in the opposite direction.

 _Shit, that really wasn't good for the tailbone,_ I thought as I slowly stood back up, rubbing my hind end as I rose. That's when I realized that whatever I had run into was still on the floor in front of me. As I looked, I quickly realized it wasn't a something, but a someone, who I had not only plowed over, but I had also completely knocked all their things out of their hands. I immediately bent down to start helping them pick their things up, profusely spitting out apologies and cursing my clumsiness, when I saw a wand suddenly appear in my line of sight. Pointed directly at me.

… _What the bloody hell?"_ I swallowed as I slowly looked up to find Severus Snape pointing his wand directly at me with a snarl on his face. I gulped again as I slowly stood up, cursing the fact that my wand was in my pocket. There was no way I could draw it and avoid getting hit. We stared at each other for a few seconds before Severus started to speak.

"You should watch where you're going Dixon. You're lucky I don't hex you right where you stand," he snarled out. "Get your filthy mudblood hands off my stuff." I realized I was still holding the books I had begun to pick up and quickly dropped them. He stared at me a few seconds more before lowering his wand. "Next time I won't be so nice. Now, get out of my sight." He then bent down to pick up his things again. I quickly headed past him and around the corner, wanting to get away before he changed his mind.

 _Geez, somebody's grumpy,_ I thought to myself as I tried to play off the incident that had just occurred. It didn't really work. My heart was still pounding and my hands even had a slight tremor. Severus had always scared me a bit more than the other Slytherins. Sure, Severus generally wasn't one of the people who outwardly targeted me, but I had DADA class with him, and let me tell you, that boy knew his shit about the Dark Arts. And I, for one, did not want to be on the business end of his wand should he decide to throw out a hex when he was in a mood. _Like today. Apparently._

Walking on, I once again wasn't really paying attention to where I was going as I was still trying to pull myself together. I rounded a corner, when all of a sudden I found myself covered in something cold, wet, and sticky.

I gasped loudly at the sudden onslaught of cold and froze. After a few seconds of shock, I slowly looked down to see myself covered in thick, green, disgusting slime. I quickly looked up and around the hallway, but it appeared deserted except for me. I looked down at myself again and just couldn't help myself.

"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK! I SWEAR ON MERLIN HIS FUCKING SELF WHOEVER THE FUCK DID THIS…" I abruptly stopped my irritated rambling as I heard low voices coming from an alcove slightly up the hall.

"…wait, that didn't sound like Snivellus"

"…it almost sounded like…like a girl."

"SHIT," I heard a now obviously male voice shout out. I then saw, not one, but 4 males emerge from alcove. The Marauders to be exact. And they were all staring at me in growing horror.

Sirius was the first one out and one who had stopped closest to me. His mouth was open in shock. I had never actually been this close to him, and even with all the anger I was feeling, I couldn't help the " _DAMN SON. AND I THOUGHT HE WAS FINE FROM A DISTANCE"_ that ran through my head. James was next to him wearing a similar expression, except his held a tinge of guilt. Peter was behind them both and he had both hands up covering his mouth in horror. And finally I looked at Remus. " _Good Lord, even when I'm seething with rage and he's standing next to Sirius fucking looks like a Greek god Black, he still looks good."_ Remus was staring at me with the same look of shock that quickly morphed into one of pure guilt and concern. He slowly brought a hand up to cover his mouth as he stared, obviously unsure of what to say or do, his bluish-green eyes slowly looking at me up and down.

We stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, the only sound being the slime still covering me dripping to the ground. The combination of the steady splat sound of the slime hitting the floor and the looks of fear on all the boy's faces suddenly made me realize how funny the situation was. Just like that, all my anger I had at being suddenly covered in thick slime faded away and was replaced by amusement. Their faces were just so priceless. " _Eh, I never was good at holding a grudge anyway"_

I was just about to start laughing when suddenly footsteps could be heard coming towards the corridor and I heard Filch's voice was saying "No, I heard the shout come from this way Professor. I'm sure of it." The boys' look of panic grew, if that was even possible. I had to take action or they were going to get into trouble. Seeing them still standing there, I moved towards them quickly and whispered "Quick, get back in the alcove!" They all stayed frozen, just looking at me. "Stop staring and move! Or do you want detention?" I grabbed the closest one, which happened to be Sirius and shoved him towards the alcove. They all seemed to unfreeze at the movement and quickly scrambled to follow him. James's foot has just disappeared when I saw Filch and McGonagall come around the corner.

They stopped as they saw me standing alone in the hallway, covered in bright green goo. McGonagall recovered from her shock at seeing what I'm sure was an odd sight first and moved towards me.

"Ms. Dixon, are you alright?" " _Acting skills, don't fail me now."_ I quickly threw on a fake smile.

"Yes, Professor, I-I'm alright. I think" I put on what I hoped was a small, self-depreciating smile. "Seems I've become the target of another Slytherin prank," I said with a humorless chuckle as I looked down at me feet.

McGonagall's face softened as she looked at me in sympathy. "Did you see who it was, Ms. Dixon?"

"No, unfortunately all I saw was some people disappearing around the corner."

McGonagall sighed as she looked at me. "Well, unfortunately I can't punish them if I don't know who did it." She straightened up "Come along, I'll escort you back to your common room."

I managed a small smile. "Thank you Professor. I'd appreciate it" She turned and started to walk off, with me following behind. I risked a quick glance back to see Remus peering out of the alcove with a look I couldn't quite distinguish, but what almost looked like admiration. I managed to give him a small smile before I turned and caught up with McGonagall.


	4. Chapter 4-Library Encounters

_A/N: Hey guys! Thank you to all of those who reviewed, followed, and favorited so far! It means so much to hear that you all seem to be liking the story. Anyway, here's Chapter 4. It's a long one, so enjoy! And, as always, read and review if you'd like to!_

 **Chapter 4: Library Encounters**

Once McGonagall walked me down to the dungeon, it took a few minutes for me to actually work up the nerve to go in. As much as I wanted to wash the slime off, I really wasn't looking forward to the laughter that was going to ensue at my expense once they all saw me. I took a deep breath, muttered out the password, and walked through the door with my head down.

Once in the room, I felt more than heard the gasp of shock that ran through me housemates at my appearance. I risked a glance up and was greeted by the faces of at least half of my housemates. All was still until one younger girl couldn't help the chuckle that slipped out. This started off a chain reaction until pretty much the entire room was dying of laughter. _Seriously, why did this have to happen now? When literally all of our house is in the common room,"_ I thought as my face began to burn.

As I glanced around again, I saw one other face that wasn't laughing. Natalie was sitting in the corner with a few other first years looking at me with pure sympathy. When I met her eyes, she gave me a small smile that seemed to say _"Dude, I know this sucks. I'm sorry."_ Suddenly, I felt a bit lighter. Even if the rest of my house were assholes, at least there was one other decent person. With that thought, my embarrassment left me and a smile broke out on my face. " _Whatever fuckers, I don't care what you all think anyway."_ I stuck my arms out to the sides and took a couple bows, still smiling the whole time. The laughter died down as the Slytherins looked at me oddly, but I really didn't care. I turned on my heel and practically strutted towards the girl's dorm.

/

I stepped out of the shower feeling better now that I didn't have, you know, slime covering every inch of me. I put on my most comfortable jeans and sweater and was just about to lay down when I heard a soft knock at the door.

 _I swear, if this is someone coming to laugh or play another prank on me, I'm going to kill someone._ I crossed the room and slowly opened the door, expecting the worse. I was surprised to see Natalie standing there holding a plate of food. "Natalie…what are you doing here?" She ducked her head and softly said "Well you looked like you were having a rough day… and, well you missed dinner, so I, uh, brought you some food" She then thrust the plate towards me quickly. I slowly took it, looking down at the plate. Warmth spread through me as a fully registered the sweet gesture. I looked up at her with a smile and opened the door wider "Would you like to come in?" She smiled back and stepped through the door.

I moved over to my bed and sat down, beginning to shove food in my mouth as I realized that I was ravenous. In all the commotion I had forgotten that I still hadn't eaten since my toast early that morning. " _Seems like that was ages ago now."_ Natalie slowly sat next to me, looking towards me with mild disgust. I quickly looked over.

"What?" I said around a mouth full of food.

"You could at least eat like a human being. I brought you a fork," she said with much more sass than I expected from her tiny 11 year old body. _"So, the girl does have some spunk. Interesting."_

I swallowed my food and said "Hey, that's enough sass out of you, kid. Respect you elders," I said with grin to let her know I was kidding. She rolled her eyes and grinned good naturedly back at me.

I took a few more bites before I realized I hadn't actually thanked her "Thank you Natalie," I said as I looked over and met her eyes. "I really appreciate this. It was sweet." Natalie immediately blushed and looked down with a shrug. "It's nothing. After all, we muggleborn freaks need to look out for each other," she said with a grin. Suddenly her grin turned into more of a smirk. "Apparently I'm going to have to look out for you more so than you look out for me. Seriously, what was that? Slime?"

I laughed loudly. "Yes, it was in fact slime. Or goo if you prefer that term," I said through the laughter. Natalie immediately turned on my bed to face me and looked up at me expectantly.

Surprised at the sudden camaraderie I felt with this girl, I turned to face her as well and launched into my story of the past several hours.

/

I managed to avoid everyone on Sunday and had spent most of the day with Natalie, who brought me food after mealtimes. I felt like I was treating her like a slave, but she shrugged off these concerns when I voiced them, telling me "that's what friends did." I was a bit shocked to hear the word "friend" come out of her mouth in relation to me, but after considering it, I realized that friend was probably the best description of our relationship. Even if she was only 11, I still felt a lot of affection for her. " _Well, I always wanted a younger sister."_

The next Monday dawned bright and early, and I shuffled to my classes along with everyone else. In my last class of the day, I was looking around at the other students when I realized that I hadn't actually seen the Marauders since they pranked me. Well, not pranked me, per say, as I was not the intended target. I had recalled after the fact that I had heard what I thought was James saying that I "didn't sound like Snivellus", so I assumed that I had simply been the victim of a prank gone wrong. I guess I should change my statement to say that I hadn't seen the Marauders since I had walked into their prank unintentionally.

" _Well, I better get a fucking thank you next time I see any of them,"_ I thought to myself as I walked toward the library after classes. " _I did save their asses from what was at least a week's worth of detention after all."_

I found my table in the corner of the library and spread my things out to get to work. I had been working for maybe 30 minutes when I suddenly heard a commotion. I looked up towards where the front of the library was warily. _That seems a lot closer to my table than normal."_ The commotion continued to get louder as I heard several sets of footsteps approaching and what were distinctively male voices whispering amongst themselves.

"…she has to be back here. We've checked everywhere else…"

"…definitely said they saw her heading this way..."

I immediately began to panic, not recognizing the voices. And they were obviously looking for someone, a girl to be more specific. And I was the only girl in the surrounding area. " _Please, please, PLEASE don't be here to hex/prank/maim me. I can't handle more than one of you at a time."_ I quickly grabbed my wand and stood, pointing it directly towards the gap in the bookcases that the voices were coming from. The voices and footsteps continued to get closer and I tensed more and more with every second.

Suddenly, I saw a tall figure step around the corner and immediately stop when they saw me standing with my wand pointed directly at them. It took me a second before my brain registered that it wasn't a Slytherin standing in front of me, but Remus Lupin. I saw 3 more figures come around the corner and nearly run into Remus. "Oi, did you find…" Sirius began, but then quickly faded out at he saw me standing there, wand drawn.

I gaped at them for a few more seconds, trying to process what I was seeing. _Remus. In front of me. With Marauders. Obviously looking for me. Remus Lupin was looking for me. And the Marauders. Remus. My wand is pointed at Remus Lupin. WAIT"_

I realized I hadn't put my wand down while my brain was processing and quickly brought my hand back to my side. "Shit, I'm sorry! You startled me and I'm used to assholes trying to corner me and it's just a knee-jerk reaction now. Of course, if I had known it was you guys I wouldn't have done that…" I trailed off as I realized I was rambling.

They all had relaxed as soon as I lowered my wand and all had slowly started to smile as I had rambled uncontrollably. A blush overtook my face as I shuffled in place and shyly looked at them. It was a bit disconcerting to have the 4 most popular boys in school smiling at me, especially when one of them was my crush and looked quite adorable while smiling. Especially when it was aimed at me.

After a few moments of mildly awkward silence, I sat back down in my chair and cleared my throat. "…Um, what could I, uh, help you boys with?" I said as I awkwardly shifted between looking at them and my hands, which were fiddling in my lap. _For the love of Merlin, could I be any more awkward?_

Speaking seemed to have unfrozen the boys, as they all looked at each other and nodded. Sirius cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"We owe you an apology, it seems. You stumbled upon one of our pranks the other day and, unfortunately, it did not end well for you. You seemed quite angry in that moment, which you had every right to be, and we just…well, we wanted to clear the air."

James stepped forward as Sirius finished. "You weren't the one who we were planning that prank for. You've probably noticed that Snivell…I mean Snape and I, along with the rest of the Marauders, don't particularly get along. And he had done something earlier in the week that really pissed us off so we were trying to get him back, you see…" James trailed off and looked at me guiltily.

Remus then coughed quietly and I turned to face him, suddenly realizing that while I had been focused on Sirius and James, he had moved closer to me. Within touching distance actually. I had never actually been this close to him and my breath caught. He stepped forward and gestured towards the chair next to me. "Do you mind…?"

I couldn't manage words right now, so I settled for a shake of my head.

He sat down and then looked at me, rubbing the back of his neck a bit awkwardly. "I know you don't have much reason to believe us, but we promise we weren't planning that prank for you, Lauren." The others all nodded at this statement but I was sidetracked by the fact that Remus had said my name. " _HE KNOWS MY NAME!"_ my brain screamed out enthusiastically. I quickly returned to listening to Remus as he started speaking again.

"You really did just happen to walk by at the wrong time. Snape usually walks that way and we thought he would be the only one heading through there. It was just an unfortunate accident. We know that you're mad at us and you have every right to be, but we really wanted to say how truly sorry we are." He looked into my eyes at this and my heart just about stopped. He looked so genuinely concerned and upset over this and his eyes were just so gorgeous. It was so endearing that I just stared at him for a few seconds, trying not to swoon.

Then my brain process what he had said. " _Wait, he thinks I'm mad at them?"_ I glanced at them all again. They all looked so upset over this. _They really think I'm upset at them. And that makes them all upset. They're all looking at me like I just told them I'm dying."_ I looked at all of them again. _This is crazy! This is quite possibly the weirdest situation I've ever been in._ As I processed this very odd situation, I suddenly couldn't hold back any longer.

I laughed.

They all jumped as suddenly started laughing loudly. And they all looked at each other and back at me completely bewildered. This only made me laugh harder. This went on for about a minute before I managed to calm myself enough to speak.

"Oh my gosh, you guys think I'm mad at you?" I said as I looked at them incredulously as I tried to catch my breath.

Peter spoke up for the first time. "…well, yea…aren't you? We did dump slime all over you…"

I giggled a bit. "I mean, yea, I was pissed for a minute there, but it was really because I was just having a shitty day. Seriously the prank was hilarious. OH and all of your faces once you saw me? Completely priceless," I said with a wide grin.

They are were staring at me, completely shocked. _I seem to have broken the Marauders_

Suddenly, Remus let out a bark of laughter. I turned to look at him and he was staring at me with the same look he'd given me as he peeked out of the alcove. " _Y_ ea, _definitely admiration,"_ I thought to myself as my heart fluttered a bit. "You hear that boys? She's not mad," he said as he turned to look at the boys, who all had started to relax and smile again. He turned back to me. "We've been worried for days about apologizing to you." He said as he smiled at me.

James stepped closer again and started speaking. "Soo…you're really not mad?" I shook my head, still grinning." He immediately brightened and ran a hand through his hair excitedly. Sirius then spoke up "Is that why you didn't rat us out?"

I had honestly forgotten about that, but I nodded quickly. "Well yea. I really didn't want you all to get in trouble over me. It was pretty obvious by your faces that you had meant to slime someone, but it definitely wasn't ME." I looked down at my hands as I continued, "…and well, I mean your pranks have always been brilliant. Even if they are typically aimed at me and my housemates. I usually…well, I usually laugh and admire the work you guys put into them…" I trailed off again.

When they didn't say anything, I panicked internally " _Shit now they think I'm some weird fangirl."_ I looked up cautiously.

They were all now looking between themselves and the back at me smiling. Sirius grabbed the chair across from and flopped down into it. Peter and James joined the table as well. I looked around at them and then back over to Remus. He was still looking at me with that same damn adorable look, a small smile on his face. _Damn butterflies._ I looked away shyly and met Sirius's gaze.

"Lauren Dixon, I believe this is the start of beautiful friendship."


	5. Chapter 5-New Friends

_A/N_ : _Hey guys, so this one is a really long one. I couldn't quite figure out where to cut it and still have 2 decent sized chapters, so more for you all! We finally get to some Remus/Lauren interaction in this one though! Read and enjoy!_

 **Chapter 5: New Friends and Quiet Conversations**

That night after the Marauders had cornered me in the library, I headed back towards the common room in somewhat of a daze. The Marauders had ended up sitting with me for several hours, much to my surprise. I had expected them to leave as soon as they had apologized, but they continued to hang around me like it was perfectly normal. At first they had tried to draw me into the conversation, but my shyness and inability to have conversations with new people had reared its ugly head, and they picked up on it. After that they seemed to be content to chat around me, occasionally asking me a question or my opinion on something as I attempted to work on my assignments.

As odd as the situation was, I had found myself enjoying their company. They seemed to understand that I wasn't a particularly chatty person despite not knowing me and they had accepted it, which I appreciated. They also had behaved themselves rather well, especially after Remus had pointed out that I was trying to do assignments and that, as they had interrupted me, the least they could do was behave themselves. Remus had smiled warmly at me after he said that, and I had to stop myself from sighing audibly.

As I entered the common room, I saw Natalie look up from the corner and smile. She immediately grabbed her things and scurried over to me excitedly. " _Oh what I wouldn't give to have the enthusiasm of an 11 year old again."_ I smiled back at her and she wordlessly fell in beside me as we made our way up the stairs. Once we reached my room, I threw my stuff on the bed. As I turned around, I noticed Natalie giving me an odd look.

"What happened to you?" she questioned, still looking at me weirdly.

"What do you mean? What's wrong with me?" I said as I gave myself a quick once over.

"You had this weird dreamy look on your face when you came in and you seem…I don't know…happier, I guess," she said slowly, looking me up and down.

Surprised that she had noticed, I debated whether to tell her about the Marauders. " _Well, she's only 11, and I don't quite think she understands how much of an outcast I am, so me being happy just from spending time with people might be a little odd to her… On the other hand, this girl is probably the closest thing to a best friend that I have, even if she is 11. And she is annoyingly perceptive…"_ With that, I pulled her to sit down on the bed next to me and told her all about my afternoon.

As I finished my tale, I noticed her looking at me with smirk. "What's that look for?" I said, smacking her arm lightly.

"Nothing, I just figured out you have a crush"

"WHAT?!" I sputtered out.

She gave me a condescending look and continued. "You have a crush. On that guy Remus. It's quite obvious if you know what to look for," she said with much more maturity than should be coming out of an 11 year old.

" _Annoyingly perceptive. Nailed that description right on the head. Should I deny it or just tell her…ah, fuck it, she already guessed it and who the hell is she going to tell anyway."_

I covered my face with my hands and groaned out "Is it really that obvious?"

"Not really. It was just the way you talked about him. You mentioned his smile 7 times during your story and you say his name all dreamily and you also got this goofy grin on your face…actually, yea it's pretty obvious." I groaned again and fell back onto the bed.

Natalie laughed at my defeated expression. "Hey, don't worry. It's only obvious when you talk about him and you barely talk to anyone, so I don't think it'll be an issue," she said with a wry laugh.

"Yea, haha, very funny. Make fun of the outcast," I snarked out, pretending that I was annoyed when I actually was mildly relieved at the truth in her statement.

Natalie quickly jumped off the bed and began to gather her things as she spoke. "Well, since these guys seem to like you now, maybe you'll have a chance with this Remus fellow. I mean, he would be stupid not to. You're great…well, I think you're great at least," she finished a bit shyly, tucking her hair behind her ears.

I almost teared up at the sweet statement. " _Lord have mercy, stop being such a sap Lauren Dixon. One compliment from an 11 year old girl and you're about to bawl like a baby."_ I just couldn't help myself from reaching out and pulling her into a hug. "Thanks, Natalie." I pushed her back as I looked down at her and the reached out and ruffled her hair. "You're alright too, I guess"

She gave me a dirty look, but smiled anyway as she fixed her hair. I let her out of the room and then went back to flop on my bed. I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face as I there.

 _Today was a good day._

 _/_

The next morning I made my way towards the Great Hall for breakfast. As I entered the room, I immediately turned to head towards the Slytherin table. I had only made it a short distance before I heard someone say "Oh no you don't" and felt something grab my hand. I let out a small squeal and tried to pull my hand away. The person held tight and I turned to confront them when I realized it was Sirius.

He simply smiled at my shocked face and said "You're sitting with us." He then began to pull back the way I had come towards the Gryffindor table, where I could see Peter, James, and Remus waiting. I noticed that the rest of the students in the Great Hall had gone quiet and were staring at Sirius pulling me across the hall in disbelief. I began blushing profusely, not used to this many eyes being on me at once.

I risked a glance back towards the Slytherin table. All of their faces were tinged with disbelief as well, but most of their faces also contained anger. I gulped and turned away, not looking forward to the hexes that would most likely be thrown my way over this little incident.

We reached the Gryffindor table and Sirius pulled me down to sit between him and Remus. The blush that had been fading quickly returned full force as I realized how close to Remus I was. _My shoulder is touching his, my leg is TOUCHING HIS LEG OH MY GOD THIS IS NOT A DRILL, I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL."_ I tried to scoot over just a bit but Sirius was pressed into me from the other side. _OH MY LANTA, I AM SQUISHED BETWEEN GORGEORUS SIRIUS BLACK AND LOVE OF MY LIFE REMUS LUPIN. I'M GOING TO PASS OUT."_

Trying to calm my racing heart, I glanced around the room for something to focus on. I glanced behind me to see the angry looks that the Slytherins tossed my way and turned back around quickly. _Geez that is really not going to end well for me."_ My seating arrangement forgotten, I grabbed a piece of toast and began to munch on it anxiously.

"What's got you all worked up, love?" I came back to my senses to see Sirius peering at me in concern, along with the rest of the Marauders. I looked down at my hands and debated whether to voice my worries. As I glanced up to their concerned faces again, I made my choice. _They probably already think I'm a bit pathetic anyway, might as well confirm it._

"Um, well, it's not that I don't want to sit with you guys or that I don't appreciate you even letting me sit here, but uh…I'm a bit concerned about my housemates…"

"Your housemates? What about the bastards?" James asked with a scowl

"…Well, I mean you guys have probably noticed I'm not exactly their favorite person and they like to mess with me when they get the chance. But if there is anybody they dislike more than me, it's you 4." I swallowed a bit and continued. "The fact that I'm hanging out with you is putting a huge target on my back…." Not wanting them to think I was too helpless, I quickly added, "Don't get me wrong, if it's just one, I can handle myself just fine, but they usually like to gang up on me and I'm…I'm a bit worried about how pissed they are right now and what they might do to if they get ahold of me…" I trailed off and looked at them, shifting in my seat uncomfortably.

They all looked at each and then back to me, the concerned looks on their face deepening. The all looked at each other again and they seemed to have a silent conversation, which ended with them all nodding. Remus turned and cleared his throat.

"We're sorry Lauren. We didn't think about the consequences for you. But we're not letting the bloody Slytherins stop us from seeing you." He looked at the others and received nods of affirmation. "He then looked back towards me. "So we'll just look out for you."

I glanced between the boys. "L-look out for me?"

"Yea, we'll walk you between classes and at least one of us will sit with you in the library. You can sit with all of us in here. Really the only place we can't help you is the common room, but I'm not sure what we can do about that…" he trailed off thoughtfully.

I was floored to say the least. These boys barely knew me and yet they were willing to help me out so much. Just so they could keep hanging out with me. _I knew I liked these Marauders for a reason._

I couldn't get the words out to express my appreciation, so I settled for a wide smile. "Thank you guys so much. That's so sweet of you all. You have no idea what it means to me _,_ " I said gratefully. They all smiled back at me, seemingly happy that I had cheered up. I scooped some eggs onto my plate and began to eat as conversation started up again, this time with me joining in.

/

The boys were true to their word. For the next several days, I had pretty much one of them with me at all times except for the common room. The Slytherins seemed to have noticed that I had been taken under their wing and let me be for the time being. I thought that I would mind be surrounded by so many people, but so far I hadn't. They all seemed to have the uncanny ability to detect when I was willing to talk and when I preferred quiet. I had even sat with a quiet Sirius and James in the library for several hours yesterday, which I'm pretty sure was a miracle in and of itself.

The boys were all just so lovely to be around. Sirius was fun and charming. He had made me laugh more than I had in years. James was surprisingly sweet under his cocky attitude. He was always asking me how I was and helping me in various ways. Peter was quiet but nice. He had listened to me rant about a potions assignment the other day for a good 30 minutes without saying a word, which I appreciated.

And then there was Remus. Remus was everything I had thought he was when I admired him from afar, but even better. He was sweet, brilliant, and surprisingly funny. He was also a bit more devious than one would have guessed. I had always thought he was just behind the complicated magic in their pranks, but lo and behold, he apparently came up with quite a few of their more memorable ones, much to my surprise.

Several day after the initial promise to help me out, I had left my Potions class with Remus and was planning on heading to the library for the next bit. The other boys were waiting outside the classroom and asked me where I was headed next.

"Well, I need to head to the library…" James and Sirius exchanged a grimace.

"Sorry, Lauren, but Sirius and I have Quidditch practice," James said apologetically.

Peter quickly chimed in. "Yea, I'm gonna have to skip today as well. I have a meeting with McGonagall about an assignment."

I looked over to Remus shyly. He smiled down at me. "Well, looks like it's just us." He looked at the other boys. "I'll see you all later." We all parted ways, with me acutely aware that this was the first time I had spent any time alone with Remus.

The walk was quiet and we headed to my table in the back. I wanted to speak, but my damn shyness wouldn't let me. Instead my brain was steadily chanting " _ALONE WITH REMUS. ALONE WITH REMUS. ALONE WITH REMUS."_ Frustrated at myself, I sat down and spread my things out to get to work, with Remus doing the same beside me.

/

After about an hour, I stopped to take a break. As I stretched my back, I noticed Remus look up and smile at me before he went back to his work. " _God, he's just so…ugh…he's just so bloody good-looking and perfect. Stupid perfect boys,"_ I grumbled in my head. Not realizing I had been staring at him for a good 30 seconds, I was surprised when he looked up and stared back at me, slightly tilting his head.

The head tilt made me realize that I had never actually figured out why Remus had stared at me during "The Incident." Curious about what had been going through his head, I wrestled with the thought of asking him.

 _I really want to know but is that weird to ask about? I mean, yea, it was a weird stare down, but it was weeks ago and it's probably weird that I even remember it. He'll think I'm so creepy stalker or something. He probably wasn't even looking at me. He was probably just thinking about…well whatever teenage boys think about and happened to be zoned out in my direction…Yea, no I shouldn't ask…buuuttt, at the same time he had that same adorable head tilt that he's wearing right now and I really wanna know and_

"Lauren."

Hearing my name shocked me out of internal monologue. Remus was looking at me with a small smile on his face. "Whatever it is you're thinking about, you might as well spit it out. I can practically hear the wheels turning up there," he said with a small chuckle as he gestured toward my head.

Blushing, I blurted my question out. "Why did you stare at me?"

He met my gaze in confusion. "Stare at you? When?"

I sighed and started from the beginning. "The first day we were here after the feast, I had been talking to Natalie, a first year, and I turned around and you were behind me staring at me doing that little puppy dog head tilt you do and you didn't say anything, but it kinda stuck with me and….yea…so why did you stare?"

Remus looked down and I was startled when I saw what appeared to be a blush staining his cheeks. He looked back up at me as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah yes…THAT. I remember that one now…"

Remus looked at me a bit awkwardly and then shrugged his shoulders as he turned to face more squarely. "Well, I was headed towards the first years with the other prefects and I overheard the advice you gave that girl and I…well I thought it was nice of you. And I was trying to figure out a way to tell you without being creepy and so I was staring, which I now realize may have been the creepier option than just telling you." He said with a small laugh.

I couldn't help but laugh along with him. "Not creepy, per say, but it was a bit out of the ordinary for me."

"How so?"

I didn't think he would actually ask for a follow up on that statement, so I struggled to get my answer out. "Well, I, uh, I'm not usually the type of girl people stare at or pay any positive attention to really…and the fact that it was one of the more popular guys in school made it a bit weirder even…"I said as I looked down at my lap.

After a few silent moment, I glanced up and met Remus's eyes again. He gave me a small smile. "Well, for the record, I think those people are bloody idiots. They should have paid you a lot more attention. I certainly wish I would have." His face grew more serious. "Really, Lauren, you are an absolutely lovely person, both inside and out. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

The combination of his kind words and the complete genuineness of his expression made me do something completely out of the ordinary.

I leaned over and hugged him.

I felt the shock run through him as he stiffened at first, but then he relaxed and hugged me back softly. His hands rubbed up and down my back gently as I squeezed him a bit tighter, trying to express my gratitude. Suddenly, my head seemed to catch up to what exactly my body was doing. _"HOLY MOTHER OF PEARL I AM HUGGING REMUS. ABORT MISSION. ABORT MISSION."_ I jumped back into my seat, pulling away from him. Afraid I had freaked him out, I immediately looked as his face. He just smiled at me gently. I smiled softly back and muttered out awkwardly. "Sorry about that…"

He just kept looking at me for a moment before he said "It's quite alright, Lauren. My pleasure, actually." He smiled at me once more before he turned back to his work. I slowly turned back towards mine and we continued working in silence, both with small smiles on our face.


	6. Chapter 6-Fights and Flirting

_A/N: New chapter guys! We get a little more Remus/Lauren interaction in this one, as well as some Lily/Lauren interaction as well. As always, read and review if you'd like to!_

 **Chapter 6: Fights and Flirting**

The next morning, I said goodbye to James after he had walked me to my first class. I had figured I would just walk with Remus since he had that class as well, but James had said that he had a meeting with a professor. I panicked internally. " _God, I probably scared him away last night with my surprise hug attack. He probably doesn't want to be anywhere alone with me after that."_ I walked into Potions with my head down, fully expecting Remus to completely ignore me like he used to. I risked a glance over towards his desk and was surprised to see him already looking. He shot me a smile and gestured for me to come over. " _Huh, guess he wasn't lying last night. He must have really not minded…"_ Ithought with a small smile as I headed to his desk.

"Sorry I couldn't walk with you today. I had a meeting with Professor Flitwick to ask about an assignment. Did one of the guys walk with you?" I smiled at him softly. "It's fine Remus. Really. James walked me up. It was no big deal." He seemed relieved that I hadn't been upset with him. "Good. I'll see you after class then?" I nodded in consent and turned towards my own table.

As I turned, I was met with an odd sight and stopped in my tracks. Lily was staring, no, _glaring_ , at me. I saw her eyes switch between me and Remus and then she turned away angrily. _"What the fuck is that about?_ I warily began heading over towards our table again. As I reached my destination, I cautiously began to speak. "…Hey Lily…You, uh, doing alright this morning?" Lily immediately cut her eyes in my direction and I physically flinched. I had never actually been on the receiving end of the famous Lily Evans temper and let me tell you, it was TERRIFYING.

Unsure of what to do, I decided that maybe I should just stay silent for now. We worked silently throughout the whole class, although I could tell Lily was still fuming because of how forcefully she was chopping the ingredients to our potion. I discretely scooted down the table a bit when she had the knife in her hands.

After class ended, I packed up my things slowly. I saw Remus hesitating by the door. I turned to face him and saw him looking at me in confusion. I nodded towards Lily discretely and gestured for him to go on without me. He still looked confused, but he nodded slowly and left the classroom. That left me and Lily alone. I turned to face her again, wringing my hands as I tried to figure out how to go about this. I avoided confrontation like the plague so this was pretty much my worst nightmare. Lily was still facing away from me shoving her things into her bag agitatedly. As I looked at her, I decided I might as well try the direct approach.

"What did I do Lily?"

I saw her tense up. She slowly turned around. This time I was more prepared for the glare, so I only flinched internally. We stared at each other, her clenching her jaw and me fighting my natural instinct to run from the very intimidating red head.

"Why are you hanging around with Potter and his friends?"

Out of all the things she could have said, that was probably the most unexpected. I could only utter out a small "What?" in response.

She rolled her eyes and spoke again. " _I said_ , why are you hanging out with Potter and his friends? They're childish and infuriating and horrid, especially Potter. Well, not Remus really, but he's guilty by association," she tacked on to the end of her statement.

I was still trying to process that she was that upset with me simply because I was hanging out with the Marauders. "Why does it matter Lily?"

She huffed and crossed her arms. "Well, Lauren, I thought we were friends and you seemed to be one of the only girls besides me not completely enamored with them. Next thing I know, you guys are the best of friends. I thought you were on my side on this and I'm a bit hurt that you suddenly switched over to..to…to, I don't know, fraternizing with the enemy!" she finished angrily, throwing her hands up in the air in agitation.

" _Friends? Lily considers me a friend? Also, fraternizing with the enemy? Isn't that a bit dramatic, Lily? Wait, wait, not really the time Lauren. Lily is about to have a meltdown over here."_ I stopped my inner monologue and stepped towards Lily. "Lily, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. Some things have just happened between me and the boys and it's…well, it's different now and the boys really aren't that bad…"Lily sent me another glare as I voiced the last part of that statement so I immediately changed tactics. "Lily, just sit down for a second. Let me explain this from the beginning," I said as I took a seat and gestured to the chair next to me. Lily looked at it for a minute and then slowly sat down. "…I'm listening."

I went through the details of the last few days, starting with the prank and then everything the boys had done for me since then. As I spoke, I could see Lily becoming less angry and more surprised. When I stopped talking, she spoke up. "They really have been helping you out for the past few days? All of them? Even Black and Potter?"

I nodded. "Yup. They've really been great. All of them." She shook her head slowly. "I just can't believe it. I mean, Remus and possibly even Peter, but Black? And Potter?" I leaned forward in my seat towards her. "Lily listen. I know you really don't like James and Sirius because of how they've acted in the past. They were, and still are to an extent, troublemakers. But I think, no I know, that they're really good guys deep down. They wouldn't do this for me otherwise," I said with as much conviction as I could muster, trying to get my point across.

She looked at me skeptically, but then nodded her head. "I'm still not sure I believe that, but I can't deny that this was a lovely thing to do. I'm glad that they're helping you. And now you'll have my help as well," she finished as she stood up.

" _Wait, what?"_ I stood up quickly. "Oh no, Lily, you don't have to do that! Really I'll be fine!" She turned and gave me a look. "Lauren I'm not doing it because I have to. I want to. Besides," she said as her expression turned a bit sheepish, "it's the least I could do after acting like such a…well a bitch to you. Sorry about that by the way…"

I shook my head and smiled "Already forgotten, Lily. And thank you." We smiled at each other and then she cleared her throat. "Well, would you like to go get lunch?" I nodded and we headed out of the room, talking quietly. As we walked, I couldn't help the thought that crossed my mind.

" _5 new friends in one week. That's gotta be some kind of record or something."_

 _/_

We made our way to the Great Hall and headed toward the Gryffindor table. I looked up from our conversation to see the Marauders staring at us. James's mouth was hanging open. As we reached them, I sat down between Remus and James. Lily remained standing.

"Hello Lily," Remus greeted politely, ever the gentleman. She nodded "Remus." She then looked at the rest of the boys. "Lauren has just been telling me that you all have been helping her out with her little Slytherin problem. I just wanted to say I think that's very admirable of you." She made eye contact with each of the boys as she said this. James's mouth was still hanging open. "I also told her I was wanted to help out as well, so if you all need anything, you can let me know." She looked at each of them again and then looked at me. "I'll see you later then Lauren. Boys," she said with a nod. And with that the turned on her heel and moved down the table to sit with some other Gryffindor girls.

I turned back towards the table and reached over to grab some food when suddenly a hand grabbed my wrist. I looked over to see James staring at me incredulously from his seat next to me. "YOU'RE FRIENDS WITH LILY EVANS AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?!" he whisper-yelled at me. I freed my wrist and continued to grab my food.

"Calm down James. I didn't actually know she considered me her friend until a short time ago. But yes, we are apparently friends now." I held up a hand as he started to speak. "Don't worry, I already put in a good word for you. Don't ask me to try and set you up or anything though. That's something you'll have to figure out on your own." And with that I started to eat my lunch.

James ran a hand through his hair excitedly. "You really put in a good word for me? Never mind, you had to have said something good about me. That's the nicest she's spoken to me well…ever! God, Lauren, you're the best!" Suddenly, he grabbed my face and planted a couple of large kisses on my cheek. I couldn't help the blush that spread furiously across my face. Sirius laughed from across the table at my embarrassed expression. "I hate to see what you'd do if I actually did get you a date with her…" I mumbled as I wiped my cheek after James had turned away to talk to Sirius. Remus chuckled quietly as my muttering and I turned to look at him. I scrunched my nose up at his amused expression.

"If you blush that much from a kiss from James, I fear you'd resemble a tomato if someone you actually liked kissed you," he said with a smirk. I just looked down at my lap with a soft smile. Remus talking about kissing was just too much for my brain to handle.

"Hey, that's enough out of you." I said as I nudged him in the ribs with my elbow, laughing slightly. He chuckled again and leaned over to whisper quietly,

"Why would I stop? You're quite cute when you blush."

My face caught fire again and I turned to look at him, my mouth dropping open. He was wearing a smirk that was scarily similar to Sirius's. " _Sweet mother of God that is the sexiest thing I have ever seen."_

Realizing I was still staring at him with my mouth open, I quickly shut my mouth and swallowed. He just let out a soft chuckle and shook his head. "Did I render you speechless?" he said, looking quite proud of himself.

" _Oh, he is such a devious little bastard."_ I rolled my eyes and finally gained control of my blush again. I turned back towards my lunch. "You, Remus Lupin, are such a tease," I said before I took a bite of my sandwich. His only chuckled once more.


	7. Chapter 7-New Developments

**Chapter 7: New Developments**

The next month was probably the happiest I'd been in years. I hadn't really minded being alone most of the time, but I had forgotten how nice it was to have someone to talk to. Or, in my case, 6 people to talk to. Seeing Lily was now a daily occurrence in my life, even when we didn't have Potions. We had quickly discovered we actually had quite a bit in common besides just being good at Potions. She had even taken to sitting with the Marauders and I at meals, much to the delight of James. I dare say I even saw some progress in that relationship as Lily was finally giving James a chance to prove himself, and he seemed to be making a good impression.

Natalie and I talked every night once we both were back in the common room. She was becoming more and more like my little mini me, except with better social skills. She honestly was one of my best friends, even though she was so much younger than me. She often came to me for advice and help with her schoolwork, much to my surprise. She seemed to have chosen me as her role model of sorts, despite my pariah status. In return for my help, she listened to my daily ramblings about how great Remus was without complaint. Well, without much complaint.

And last, but definitely not least, came the Marauders. They were quickly becoming the centerpiece of my life (not that I was complaining). They were still taking me around the castle, but each day it felt less like they were acting like bodyguards and more like I simply belonged with them. They also were much more physically affectionate than they had been before. James kissing me on the cheek that day in the Great Hall had broken some sort of barrier, and now they were all much more touchy-feely. James and Sirius were all over me, always throwing an arm around me or kissing my cheeks. I still blushed every time, much to all of their delight. They seemed to have made a game of who could make me blush the most. Even Peter had taken to gently grabbing my arm or hand when we were walking down the halls. The only one who hadn't joined in as much on that was unfortunately the one who I wanted to touch me the most. Remus still didn't ever really touch me still except for small casual ones. They closest he came to throwing his arm around me was once when we were sitting in the library and he had put his arm on the back of my chair. As much as it annoyed me, it was probably for the best. I might actually spontaneously combust if he did put an arm around me or, God forbid, kiss me.

All in all, my life was going great when suddenly, Remus got sick. He had looked a bit tired for a couple of days beforehand and had even been a bit grumpy, which definitely wasn't a side that I had seen of him. His temper was much shorter with the other guys than normal, but they didn't seem to mind. They just brushed it off when he snapped at them and acted like it was perfectly normal. He hadn't acted rude towards me at all though. In fact, he had been acting almost… extra protective of me.

I had been walking down the hall with him when I couple of Slytherins had given me dirty looks and mumbled "Freak" as they had passed me by. As I was used to that and worse, I had thought nothing of it, but he had immediately whipped around and drew his wand, threatening to hex them and worse if they ever said that to me again. I had quickly grabbed his arm to calm him down, not wanting him to get in trouble over such a small matter. As soon as I touched him, he had visibly relaxed. He gave one last look to the now retreating Slytherin's backs and then turned, putting his hand on the small of my back and led me away. I would have asked him why he had reacted so violently, but I was too distracted by the feel of his hand on me to have much coherent thought.

After those few cranky days, he hadn't shown up to class. Concerned, I asked James where he was, but he had brushed it off and told me the Remus was just "not feeling well" and that he was in the hospital wing. I had offered to go and take him homework and visit, but he had quickly nipped that idea in the bud, saying that Remus got sick quite a lot and that he generally preferred no visitors. "Don't worry Lauren. I promise you, he'll be fine," James had said reassuringly to me. A day or so later, James's prediction was proven correct as Remus showed up to dinner, looking tired still, but he seemed to back to his normal, polite self. I had expressed my concern over how sick he had been, but he simply thanked me for the concern and told me he was fine and then proceeded to change the subject. Sensing he really didn't want to talk about it for some reason, I had let it go.

/

A few days Remus had gotten back to class, he and I were headed towards the library. The other guys and Lily were busy again, so it was just me and Remus, which made me nervous and excited at the same time. As we walked in the door, I immediately turned to head towards my usual table in the far back corner. Suddenly, I felt a hand grip my elbow and turned back to see Remus looking at me.

"Do you mind if we sit in some of the comfortable chairs today?" he asked as he gestured over towards another section that had some couches and chairs instead of tables.

"Sure, but why the sudden aversion to my table?" I asked, not really minding the change of plans but confused by the sudden request.

He got a somewhat sheepish look on his face. "Honestly, I'm feeling a bit lazy and I don't want to walk all the way to the back of the library…and I also just don't really feel like sitting hunched over a table in an uncomfortable chair for a couple hours," he said with a small laugh as he released my elbow.

I just shook my head with a small smile and gestured for him to lead the way. He turned and headed off in the opposite direction. I followed him silently and he finally stopped at a small secluded corner that had a small couch and some chairs along with a coffee table. I will admit, it did look much more welcoming than my dark corner in the far back recesses of the library. I walked over to the couch and claimed one of the end seats. I bent over to begin getting my things out of my bag when I suddenly felt the weight of the couch shift. I looked over and was surprised to see Remus sitting next to me, instead of in one of the other chairs as I had expected him to do. He wasn't extremely close to me (I had definitely sat closer squished in the Great Hall), but it was still within touching distance. The closeness combined with the fact that we were secluded and sitting on a comfortable couch instead of at a formal table sent my heart rate up and brought my nerves back full force.

" _Calm the hell down, Lauren. All he did was sit next to you on a couch, not jump your bones for pete's sake!"_ I shook my head and continued getting my things out, fully aware that Remus was just a couple of feet away doing the same. I shook my head again to clear my thoughts and grabbed my book and leaned back into the cushions, attempting to get a start on my reading.

/

"Finally," I heard Remus say with a sigh as he closed his book. He tossed the book onto the table in front of us and then flung his arms out on the back of the couch and laid his head back on the cushions.

"Good read?" I asked jokingly. He snorted a bit. "Oh yes, absolutely riveting. Hogwarts: A History is an absolute thriller," he said, completely deadpan. I laughed and turned back to my own work. I stared at the page again, trying to understand the transfiguration techniques that the book was telling me. The chapter didn't seem to be coming as easily as the other chapters had, which irritated me to no end. I sighed angrily, running a hand through my hair in frustration.

"Rough assignment?" Remus's question startled me and I turned quickly. He was looking at my irritated expression in amusement. I rolled my eyes.

"Yea, you could say that." I gestured towards the page and continued. "I just can't get this stupid technique down and I'm going to need it to be a Healer. No matter how many times I read over the words or actually practice it, it still comes out wrong, and I just….ugh, I can't figure it out!" I leaned my head forward and pinched the bridge of my nose.

Suddenly, I felt movement next to me and jerked my head up in surprise when I felt something brush around my shoulders. I quickly realized that Remus had moved over to sit right next to me and he had moved his arm around my shoulders to rest on the back of the couch. He leaned over to look at the book in my lap and said "Well, I'm not in this class, but I'll have a go."

He began reading the book in my lap as I sat there frozen, trying to slow my racing heart, with little success. He was completely pressed against my left side and his arm had slipped down a bit as he leaned forward to read so that it was now basically just wrapped around me. _"OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD,"_ was the only thing my brain could manage to string together as we sat there, him completely nonchalant, me about to go into cardiac arrest.

He suddenly sat up again with a frown. "Well, in theory I understand what the spell requires, but I don't think I could actually do it without being taught first." He turned his face to look at me with a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry I'm not much help."

Distracted by how near he was and how gorgeous his eyes looked this this close up, all I could manage was a quiet "I-It's alright…" I swallowed and tried to speak a bit louder "Thank you for trying."

He smiled a bit "Not a problem, Lauren" His eyes wandered around my face a bit as we sat there staring at each other, him seemingly calm and me trying not to swoon, his arm still around my shoulders. Unable to take his searching look anymore, I lowered my gaze and my hair fell down into my face a bit at the movement.

Suddenly, I felt the arm around my shoulders lift away and move back towards my face. His hand gently brushed against my cheek as he softly tucked the wayward strands back behind my ear. He proceeded to press his palm against my cheek as his fingers threaded his way into my hair. My heartbeat thudding in my ears, I slowly looked back up to Remus's face. He was still simply staring at me, but it seemed to me that he was thinking very hard about something now. He softly began to brush his thumb back and forth across my cheek.

" _What…what is happening…."_

I could barely breathe as I sat there with his hand on my face, waiting for something to happen. I had no idea what Remus was doing, but I could hardly say that I minded. " _Just kiss me, you big, gorgeous idiot!"_ my brain was screaming at him.

"Excuse me!"

Both of us jumped apart at the sudden intrusion, quickly looking up at who had spoken. Madam PInce stood in front of us on the other side of the coffee table, looking over her glasses at us disapprovingly. She cleared her throat and began "What exactly do you two think you are doing?"

Remus and I looked at each other and then back at her. "…Nothing," we both said at the same time. She simply tutted and shook her head. "I've been around here many years and let me tell you, I know exactly what kind of "nothing" that was. I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Completely mortified, I began to pack up my things quickly, with Remus doing the same next to me. We both avoided looking at each other as we got up and followed Madam Pince out of the library, where she pretty much shoved us out the door and shut it firmly behind us.

We both stood there awkwardly shuffling our feet for a moment, avoiding eye contact. I managed a quick peek at Remus's face and it was as red as mine felt. He looked up suddenly and I quickly looked back at my feet.

"…well, I, uh, guess…I guess, I should be getting back to my common room…" I began awkwardly as I risked another glance. He nodded a bit and quietly said "I'll walk you then."

We both took off towards the dungeons, completely silent and walking far enough apart that there was no chance of us touching. _"This is quite literally the most awkward thing I have ever experienced in my entire life"_

We got down to the dungeon hallway and I stopped where the boys normally left me. I turned to face him again. "Um, well thank you, I'll, uh see you later then?" I said, trying to sound as normal as possible. All he did was nod again. I slowly turned and started to head down the hallway towards my common room. I had only made it a few steps before I felt a hand grab my arm.

"Lauren! Wait"

I turned quickly to see Remus holding my hand and looking at my face for the first time since the library. He let go of me and took a couple of steps towards me. He cleared his throat and looked down again before speaking.

"I'm sorry for that back there Lauren. I don't know what happened. I was just trying to help you with your homework honestly. I mean, I didn't lure you over to the couches and sit close to you because I was planning something, I was just sitting there and suddenly I realized how close you were and your hair was in your face and I tried to be nice and brush it back, but then my hand just stayed there and your cheek was soft and..."

I listened to him rambling on and on with equal parts amusement and surprise. Amusement because a rambling Remus was very cute and surprise because I was shocked at how flustered Remus was over this. Deciding to put him out of his misery, I reached over and grabbed his hand.

The moment my skin touched his he immediately ceased all talking and looked up at my face with a worried expression, a blush still mildly staining his cheeks. I kindly smiled and squeezed his hand. "Remus, really…it's ok. I'm not upset at you," I reassured.

His face immediately relaxed. "Y-you're not?" I shook my head and debated what to say next " _Should I….no, I shouldn't…"_ I looked at his face again and I changed my mind " _Ah, hell, go for it"_

I began again as I looked down to where my hand held Remus's. "No, I'm not upset. I-I actually didn't mind what, uh, happened in the library….didn't mind it at all really…." I trailed off, my bravery spent for the day.

I glanced up at Remus as I finished my declaration. His face was wearing a look of shock, but it wasn't a bad shock. More of the pleasantly surprised variety. He blinked a few times and nodded. "Um…well that's good….I suppose." He nodded again. "Yes, very good."

I couldn't help the giggle that escaped me at his still mildly bewildered expression. He seemed to come back to his senses when he heard this and ducked his head. He glanced up with a small smile and chuckled a bit himself. "Well, I really should be going…"

I nodded "Me too. See you later?" I asked with a hopeful smile, hoping I really hadn't scared him away this time. He smiled back "Definitely." Suddenly, he seemed to realize that we were still holding hands and let go quickly. I giggled again and started to back away, still smiling. He shot me one more grin before he turned on his heel and walked away, a small bounce in his step. I made sure he was out of sight before I did a giddy little twirl and then practically skipped my way to the common room, already ready to tell Natalie about this latest development.

/

 _A/N: So, I had some trouble with this chapter. I completely rewrote it a couple times before I finally settled on this version. But, it finally got finished and we definitely got some interesting interactions in this chapter_! _And the first minor appearance of Remus's "furry little problem." I hope you guys like it and, as always, read and review if you'd like to!_


	8. Chapter 8-Confrontations

_A/N: I am sooooooo sorry guys! I know I kinda fell off the face of the Earth there for a bit. College and life got in my way this past week, so writing got put on the backburner. I'm hoping to get back to updating every couple of days or so from here on out. That being said, here's the latest chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it and, as always read and review if you enjoyed!_

 **Chapter 8: Confrontations**

The next morning I walked towards the Great Hall for breakfast with a mixture of emotions. On the one hand, REMUS FUCKING LUPIN HAD PRETTY MUCH ALMOST KISSED ME LAST NIGHT, which was enough to send any girl up into the clouds for a couple of days. On the other hand, I HAVE TO LOOK REMUS FUCKING LUPIN IN THE FACE AFTER HE PRETTY MUCH ALMOST KISSED ME LAST NIGHT, which for many people wouldn't be a problem. For me and my complete social awkwardness, however, situations like these were basically my reoccurring nightmare.

With all these thoughts running through my mind, I kept my head down as I walked into the Great Hall slowly, awkwardly fiddling my hands in front of me. _You've got to go over there Lauren, you can't just stand here in the doorway all day like a fucking idiot._ I risked a quick glance up towards the Gryffindor table to see the Marauders sitting at the table laughing about something, including Remus, who I decided made doing mundane things like eating breakfast look far too good. As I looked, my nerves won the battle over my girlish happiness and I found myself taking a couple of steps backwards towards the exit. _I wasn't that hungry anyway…_ Just as I was about to leave the doorway, James decided to glance in my direction. As he saw me, his eyes lit up with recognition and he smiled and waved me over. _Dammit to hell,_ I thought to myself as the other boys turned to look who he was waving at. They all smiled as they saw me, including Remus, whose smile seemed to be more dazzling than normal. _Well, can't back out now._ With that thought, I swallowed and headed towards the table, praying to every God I could think of that I could at least behave semi-normally.

As I approached, I saw James scoot over and pat the seat next to him, which also happened to be the seat squished next to Remus. I silently sat down, trying to sit as far away from Remus as I could without making it obvious. James quickly ruined my plan however by scooting back over as soon as I was situated, knocking me back over until I was pressed against Remus. I kept my eyes on the table as I tried to hide how my breath caught at the contact.

"Morning, Lauren!" James said brightly, with Peter quickly repeating his greeting. I managed a mumbled greeting and shot them both what I hoped came out as a smile and not a grimace. "Morning, love. You're looking lovely, as usual." Sirius greeted me, flashing his trademark smirk. Rolling my eyes at his flirting ways, I greeted him softly as well.

"Good morning," a voice said softly to my left. _Time to face the music._ Biting my lip, I slowly turned to look up Remus. He was looking at me with a soft smile. I couldn't help the blush the spread across my face as our eyes met. I immediately turned back to look at the table and stammered out a quiet "morning." _Dammit, I can't even keep eye contact with him. I'm horrible at this whole male-female interaction thing._ I kept my eyes down until I heard him chuckle. _Fuck, now he's laughing at me. This is horrible._ I turned back towards him quickly at the sound. He was also looking down at his breakfast. He turned to glance at me and I was surprised to see a bit of blush staining his cheeks as well. He grinned a bit sheepishly and I couldn't help but to smile timidly back at him. We both turned back to our plates. At that moment, I relaxed a bit and I felt him relax next to me. _I guess he's not good at the whole male-female interaction thing either._ Deciding to take a chance, I nudged him in the ribs with my elbow softly. He chuckled again and repeated the gesture back. We then leaned into each other for the rest of breakfast, both of us wearing the same dorky grins the whole time as James and the rest of the boys carried on around us, completely oblivious to what was happening right in front of them.

/

Remus and I carried on throughout the day in the same fashion. Nothing special happened and neither of us brought up our little library incident, even when we were alone in between classes. However, there was definitely something different in the air between us. Nobody else seemed to notice (or if they did, no one mentioned it), but I definitely felt it.

There was a slight tension between the two of us, but not in a bad way. Our interaction last night had shifted the relationship between us and we both seemed to be looking at each other in a new light. While I had always shot Remus shy glances throughout the day, I was surprised to now see him already looking back at me pretty much anytime I glanced over. He also seemed to be casually touching me a lot more than usual. He scooted his chair over so that he could sit close to me when we sat in class together and he had placed his hand in the small of my back to lead me around multiple times. I even noticed that during the time we were walking between classes alone that he was walking close enough that his hand brushed mine with each step. Whether he was doing these things unconsciously or not, I don't know. Not that I minded either way. He could get as up close and personal as he wanted and I would welcome him with open arms.

As we left our last class, Remus once again placed his hand on my back and led me out of the room. We had been the last two to leave the classroom as we had been chatting, so the hall was pretty much empty. We had made it quite a ways down the hallway when Remus stopped suddenly.

"Shoot, I think I left my quill back in class. Wait here while I run back and get it?" I nodded in consent and leaned up against the wall as he turned and headed back the way we came. I was standing, just minding my own business when I heard a voice off to my left. "Well, well…look what we have here."

… _shit._ I turned my head slowly to see Lucius Malfoy standing near me with a few of his friends, all of them wearing smirks. I immediately tensed up and grabbed my wand. I had barely moved my hand to lift it when I heard Lucius say "Expelliarmus!" I watched in horror as my wand gracefully flipped through the air and landed in his grip. He handed it off to one of his goons and began to chuckle humorlessly.

"Now, I was going to be nice, but since you were rude and drew your wand first, I guess I don't have to be…hmm, what to do to you…" He began to pace in front of me. I had backed up so that I was against the wall, hoping and praying that Remus or someone would come by and help me. "Well, as a start, we'll go with," he raised his wand again, "Levicorpus!" Suddenly I found myself upside down hanging in the air. I thankfully had moved fast enough to catch my robes and hold them down by my sides.

They all laughed. Lucius began to pace again. "Much better. Now, normally I would leave it at that, but I've been missing out on all this fun since you got those little bodyguards of yours…so I'll need to make the best of this while I have the chance. Flipendo!" I once again found myself flipping through the air, except this time I flew across the hall and hit the wall. I thankfully avoided my head, but I definitely got a nasty hit to the arm. They all laughed as they all three continued to send me sailing across the room, occasionally hitting the walls. _At least I don't get motion sick._ I saw Lucius raise his hand again, but before he had the chance to do anything else, I heard someone else shout "Expelliarmus!"

 _Remus!_ I saw Lucius's wand fly out of his hand. As soon as his grip broke free, I crumpled to the ground, whacking my head in the process. I groaned as I saw stars. I heard more spells being shouted and I tried to sit up and see what was happening, but I was still dizzy from my flipping and hitting my head. I heard people running down the hallway away from me, so I assumed Remus had managed to run the Slytherins off. My vision finally cleared and I looked up to see Remus breathing hard, his wand still drawn. Suddenly, he turned to look at me and his eyes got wide. "Lauren, oh my god!" He quickly made his way over and knelt down next to me.

"Are you alright?! What happened?" He began anxiously, as he began to run his hands over my arms to check me over as he helped me sit up. Holding a hand to my head, I turned to answer. "The usual. They cornered me and proceeded to act like the dicks they are," I tried to answer with as much sass as I could muster. I turned to look him in the eyes as he continued to look me over worriedly. "Really, I'm fine Remus. I bit banged up, but no worries. I'm just glad you showed up when you did." As I said this, I rubbed my head a bit, feeling the knot developing on the back of it. I must have winced because I saw Remus's worry double.

"Did you hit your head?" He reached out and gently grabbed my head in both hands, feeling the back of it to check for cuts and bumps. He continued, "Did I make you do that when I disarmed him? I'm so sorry, Lauren, I should have thought that through more, I just saw you in the air and went for the first thing I thought of. I really shouldn't have left you in the first place and then this wouldn't have happened and then we wouldn't have had to worry abou-". I cut him off by placing a hand on his cheek as he started to ramble.

"Remus. I need you to listen to me." I paused to make sure he was really paying attention. He released his hold on my head and simply sat, the worried look still slightly present. I continued "You did nothing wrong. These things are going to happen. You can't be there to protect me all the time. So do not blame yourself for this. I'm just grateful that you came when you did. If you hadn't, it would have been a lot worse. Now I'm just a bit bruised instead of seriously injured. So thank you." I finished my speech and kept looking at Remus to make sure it sunk in.

He just stared at me for a moment before he took a deep breath and relaxed a bit. Then, he shocked me by leaning forward and wrapping his long arms around my waist in a hug. He rested his head on shoulder. "You shouldn't be thanking me but I'm just glad you're alright Lauren." Surprised, it took me a second to react before I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and squeezed him tightly back. "Thanks Remus." He only hugged me tighter in response

We stayed there, embracing on the floor for a bit, before he pulled back. "Do you need to go see Madam Pomfrey?" I took a quick inventory of my injuries before I shook my head. "No, I don't think so. I'm just a bit bruised I think." Slowly, we began to move off the floor. He grabbed my bag for me retrieved my wand. He threw my bag over his shoulder along with his own against my protest of being able to carry it myself. He then walked back to me and placed an arm around my waist and began to help me walk towards the Great Hall. Even though I didn't need help with that either, I didn't find myself protesting that too much.

The other boys were understandably pissed when we made it to the table and Remus told them what had happened. "I'm gonna kill them," Sirius said with such a serious look that I actually feared for the Slytherin's lives a bit.

"Guys, really, I'm fine. You don't have to get back at them or anything." They all turned to look at me and then Sirius spoke up again. "Lauren, we aren't going to let them get away with this no matter what you say so you might as well just help us plan something." Looking at all their faces, I could tell they would not be swayed on this matter. _Well, they say if you can't beat 'em, join 'em._ "Alright, what are we thinking…"

/

The boys all walked me to my common room after dinner that night, not wanting to take the chance we would get jumped again. As we reached the common room, Sirius and James both pulled me into hugs. "We're glad you're ok, Lauren. And don't worry, we'll get them back. We aren't gonna let them keep doing shit like this to you." Touched by their words, I squeezed both of them tightly. "Thanks guys. It means a lot." After they both stepped back, Peter stepped forward and grabbed one of my hands and squeezed it. "We'll keep looking out for you Lauren. You're one of us now." I smiled at him gently and squeezed his hand back in gratitude. I turned to look at Remus as he stepped forward. He pulled me into a tight hug which I immediately returned. He rubbed my back gently for a few seconds before he pulled back slightly.

"Thank you again for saving me Remus. I really can't thank you enough." He smiled gently. "No thanks needed. I'd do it again in a heartbeat." Suddenly, he moved a hand up to cradle the back of my head and my breath caught as he leaned forward. His gently kissed my forehead and then hugged me again, pulling me tight against him. "I'm really, REALLY, glad you're alright, Lauren," he whispered in my ear. Then he released me slowly and stepped back. I realized at that moment that the other boys were still standing near us, all with looks of surprise on their face at our more intimate interaction. Remus turned, and seeing their curious faces, cleared his throat and began to walk away. The boys watched him for a second before they slowly followed him, still shooting curious glances between the two of us. As they caught up to him, I heard the questions start.

"Moony, what the hell was that?!"

"Seriously, what's going on with you two?"

The questions became too quiet to hear and I slowly turned around and headed towards my common room, absent mindedly rubbing my forehead as I went.


	9. Chapter 9-An Interesting Turn of Events

_A/N: This one has some good Remus/Lauren interaction in it, so read on and enjoy! As always, read and review if you'd like to!_

 **Chapter 9: An Interesting Turn of Events**

The following morning I was headed towards the Great Hall a bit slower than normal. I was a bit stiff from being tossed around yesterday, and while I did know some spells to heal the bruises that Madam Pomfrey had taught me, there was still a lingering soreness. As I limped along a quiet corridor, I suddenly felt a strong hand grip my arm and pull me into a dark alcove. Now after being attacked yesterday, I was definitely a bit more gun shy than normal, so my body went into full fight mode and I turned and swung a right hook at attacker without a second thought.

Now let's get one thing straight. While I am not incredibly strong or good at fighting, I am definitely not a small girl. And I have a father and a brother who taught me how to defend myself. So when I throw a punch, it may not knock a person out, but it will hurt quite a bit. That being said, I couldn't help the feeling of satisfaction that coursed threw me as I felt my hit connect with what felt like someone's cheek and heard a muffled curse. _Serves you right, asshole,_ I thought as I jerked away from the person and prepared to take another swing. My arm stopped mid-air as my brain caught up with my body and I realized that the curses I heard sounded vaguely familiar. I squinted a bit as I looked at the person who had grabbed me and immediately dropped my arm as I recognized the black mop of hair.

"Shit, Sirius! Why the fuck would you grab me like that and not say anything?!" I yelled as I stepped forward to look at his already bruising cheekbone. He brushed away my hands and rubbed his check tenderly, giving me a look that somehow seemed to mix annoyance and respect. "Well, I didn't expect you to attack me! Fuck, where the hell did you learn to hit like that?" I rolled my eyes. "My dad taught me. But it doesn't matter where I learned because I shouldn't be having to hit anybody! Why were you even grabbing me in the first place?!"

Sirius finally stopped rubbing his check and straightened up, getting a more serious look on his face. "I needed to talk to you about something." I threw my hands up in annoyance. "And you decided to assault me instead of just walking up and starting a conversation like a normal fucking person?" He shook his head and stepped closer. "I needed this to be a private conversation."

I was still annoyed, but Sirius's expression made me shove that to the back of my mind as curiosity developed. "Fine. What did you need?"

"How do you feel about Remus?"

I froze and all brain activity stopped for a brief second. When my thought process came back, I could only think one thing.

 _SSSSHHHIIIIITTTTT._

Sirius was still looking at me, waiting for me to answer. I swallowed and tried to string together a sentence. "W-what do you m-mean?" He just kept looking at me. "I meant exactly what I said, Lauren. How do you feel about Remus?"

I stood there gaping up at him, trying to figure out what to say. _Should I tell him I like Remus? No, I can't, then he'll go and tell him and Remus will be freaked out. On the other hand, I pretty much admitted the other day that I liked Remus to his face…But why is Sirius asking in the first place? Does he not want me to like Remus? Oh shit, he's probably scared I'm gonna come in and break up their friend group by taking Remus away. Fuck, I definitely can't tell him. Nope, no way, got to think up an excu-"._ I was broken out of my internal rambling by Sirius clearing his throat. He was now wearing his trademark smirk as he looked at me.

"Well, you may not have admitted to anything vocally, but you're panicked expression pretty much tells me all I need to know." He held up a hand as I started to protest. I snapped my mouth shut and stared at him, waiting for him to tell me to back off or, even worse, to tell me I had no chance with Remus. Sirius put his hands in his pockets and then started to speak again.

"I think you should go for it."

 _Say what now?_ "E-excuse me?"

"I said, I think you should go for it. Remus…well, Remus likes you. He hasn't told us, but after that little display last night, it's pretty obvious that he does. Really, I don't know how I didn't notice it before after I started thinking about it..." he stared off in deep thought for a second before shaking his head and continuing. "Anyway, what I'm trying to say," Sirius said as he grabbed me gently by the shoulders, "is that we, including James, Peter, and myself, think that you and Remus getting together would be good for him. Good for both of you really. So, not that you need it, but you have our blessing of sorts to continue on with whatever is happening between the two of you."

He stared at me a moment longer before he quickly nodded and released me "Alright then. Now that that's taken care of, we better move along or we're going to miss breakfast." He moved past me and out into the hallway. I remained frozen, still staring where he had previously been standing. My brain had pretty much stopped processing after "Remus likes you," so moving my feet was not something that was on top priority at the moment.

"Coming, love?" Sirius's voice finally broke me out of my trance and I turned. He was standing out in the hall wearing his trademark smirk once again. I quickly made my way out of the alcove and began to walk alongside him, him sauntering as he usually does and me shuffling along beside him, trying to comprehend what I had just been told and, more importantly, what I was going to do about it.

/

As we reached the breakfast table, I sat down beside Remus as usual. As I turned to greet him, I was all at once hyperaware of the fact that Sirius had just told me that Remus liked me. This caused a stronger blush than usual to flash across my face before Remus had even said a word to me. Once he actually did turn to smile at me, it felt like a blush spread across my whole body. If he was aware of my increased blushing, he didn't show it. Instead he simply said "Good morning" and reached out to brush my hair out of my face and behind my ear. A goofy smile spread across my face at the gesture, which he returned. After a few moments, both of us turned back to our breakfast. I glanced up and noticed James, Sirius, and Peter all smirking at the two of us. My blush returned full force as James wiggled his eyebrows at me when I met his gaze. I snorted out a quiet laugh and looked down at my plate, avoiding eye contact for the rest of breakfast.

/

I didn't actually see Remus much until later in the afternoon. The only class I had with him was Potions and since Lily was my partner, we didn't interact much. After class, the three of us headed towards the library where we were meeting the rest of the Marauders. Remus had kept a hand on my back as we walked and chatted, which sent a warm feeling through me. I noticed Lily eyeing his hand a couple of times discreetly. Thankfully, she kept her mouth shut, but she did give me a look at one point when Remus wasn't paying attention that clearly said "We'll be discussing this later."

We reached the library and found the boys, where they were actually doing homework shockingly. We sat down and I noticed with satisfaction that Lily voluntarily sat next to James and started talking to him amicably. _Guess that relationship actually is moving forward._ At one point, she looked over and I met her eyes, then looked between her and James, giving her the same look that she had given me in the hallway earlier to imply that we would also need to discuss whatever was happening there. I was surprised to see a slight blush cross her features and she nodded slightly before turning back to James. _Huh. That's new._

Remus and I sat next to each and quietly worked, stopping to chat occasionally with each other or one of our other friends. After a few hours, we all stopped and headed down to dinner together. As we were finishing up desert, I tried and failed to fight off a yawn. Remus noticed my tiredness and immediately spoke up.

"If you're tired, I can go ahead and walk you to your common room." Not really wanting to leave, I opened my mouth to refuse, but another yawn broke through and I decided to give in. I nodded and we both got up to leave, me saying goodnight to everyone else. As we headed out the door and into the darkened corridor, I realized this was the first time I'd been alone with Remus since the whole bombshell Sirius dropped on me this morning. I suddenly became acutely aware of where Remus was in relation to me, and how he was walking close enough to brush my shoulder with his, and how that slight tension that had been present between us for the past couple of days seemed to have grown. All these thoughts kept me from saying anything during our walk and before I realized it, we were at the hall down to the Slytherin commons. I turned to face Remus and shyly looked up at him.

He was already looking down at me and met my eyes. _Why does he have to be so damn pretty and have those fucking gorgeous eyes._ I became overwhelmed by the eye contact and looked down to break it before I bit my lip and looked back up timidly. He was still staring. This time, his eyes seemed to search my face, stopping a few times on my lips. He slowly reached out and caressed my cheek, rubbing his thumb back and forth gently. My breath caught and I couldn't help but lean into his hand a bit. He seemed startled by the simple action and he took a quick intake of breath. We both stood there as time seemed to freeze, both of us waiting for something to happen, neither of us sure how to start it.

Suddenly, some laughter coming down the hallway startled us both and we jumped apart, Remus's hand leaving my face quickly. Some younger Slytherins came around the corner and passed us, barely sparing a glance in our direction. Remus cleared his throat and spoke. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then…" I nodded, unable to speak. I slowly turned and headed back towards the common room.

With each step I took, I heard Sirius's voice in my head. _Remus likes you…good for each other really…you should go for it…you should go for it._ At that final thought, I stopped and I suddenly felt bravery surge through me. _Time to man the fuck up and grow a pair Lauren Dixon. You have waited too damn long for this opportunity and you sure as hell aren't gonna waste it now that it's in front of you. So you turn around and you go let that gorgeous boy behind you know what you're feeling right fucking now._ I spun on my heel and saw Remus had just turned and started to walk away. "Remus Lupin!"

He immediately stopped and turned as well, confusion crossing his features. "Yes? Did you forget something?" I ignored his question as I began to march towards him, determination fueling my steps. He tensed up as I got closer, confusion growing. I only stopped once I was right in front of him, the tips of my shoes touching his. He looked down at me, obviously stunned by my behavior. He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off by quickly rising up on my toes a bit, leaning forward, and placing my lips on his.

Once my lips touched his, all of my bravery left me in a rush and my rational thought came back. With this rational thought process came the realization that I hadn't actually ever kissed a boy and I have no idea what to do besides the initial place my lips on his. At this point my brain begins screaming in panic. _HOLY FUCK I'M KISSING REMUS LUPIN. OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD. SHIT. WHAT THE FUCK AM I DOING I DON'T KNOW HOW TO KISS PEOPLE._ I pulled back and opened my eyes to look up at Remus's stunned face.

As we both stood there gaping at one another, another distressing thought crossed my mind. _He didn't actually respond…oh my god I've fucking ruined our friendship forever. Sirius must have gotten it wrong and he doesn't actually like me like that. Shit shit shit, seriously why did I fucking do that-._ My thoughts were interrupted by Remus suddenly leaning forward and pressing his lips to mine.

Stunned, it took me a second before I began to press my lips back into his. At my response, his hands moved to grip my waist and mine came up to rest on his chest. We stayed that way for what could have been hours, but in reality was only a few seconds before Remus pulled back slowly and rested his forehead on mine, both of us breathing a bit heavily. He looked into my eyes for a second before a smile broke out across his face and he chuckled a bit, which made me join in. He straightened up and cleared his throat. "Well, that was…interesting."

I bit my lip and giggled a bit. "Yes…interesting." We both smiled again before he realized that his hands were still holding my waist and he let go and stepped back a bit. "As much as I would love to stay right here, I really do need to get back up to my room. I'll see you tomorrow?"

I nodded quickly, the smile never leaving my face. "Tomorrow then." He hesitated, seeming like he was going to step forward and kiss me again before he changed his mind. Instead he smiled and turned to walk away, turning back to look at me several times before he was out of sight. Once he rounded the corner, I turned and practically ran to the common room. I jumped through the doorway and looked around quickly. Thankfully, I saw Natalie sitting in the corner alone. I ran over and grabbed her hand.

"Hey! What the-Lauren! What are you doing?!" I ignored her as I practically dragged her up the stairs towards my room. I burst through the door and ran over to my bed, where I pushed her to sit down. Natalie stared at me, completely bewildered by my behavior. Standing in front of her, I felt a wide grin cross my features and I shouted out my news.

"I FUCKING KISSED HIM!"


	10. Chapter 10-Secret Meetings

_A/N: Hey guys! First off, I just want to say thank you to all the people who have been reviewing. I've had some really sweet comments and a lot of encouragement. As this is my first fanfic, it really means a lot to me and it makes me want to keep writing. So thank you for that! Anyway, I'll stop being sappy now. Here is a long chapter for you guys and it includes some things I'm sure you'll like, including some flirty Remus and some secret rendezvous ;). As always, read and review if you enjoy it!_

 **Chapter 10: Secret Meetings**

"YOU DID WHAT NOW?!"

Natalie had jumped up off the bed at my proclamation and was now standing in front of me, jaw practically on the floor.

"I KISSED HIM! I KISSED REMUS!" I shouted as I grabbed Natalie around the waist and picked her up and started swinging her around in a circle. She started laughing and hugged me quickly before she leaned back. "Really?! Oh my god, how? When?" She scrambled out of my arms and pulled me to sit down. "Tell me everything!

"Ok, first things first, this morning Sirius pulled me aside in the hallway…" I Natalie a play by play of my entire day, starting with the bombshell I got this morning all the way through the kiss. She listened with rapt attention, and gave girly squeals at the appropriate moments. _She is the perfect little sidekick,_ I thought to myself appreciatively. After I finished, she immediately launched in question mode.

"So how was this kiss? Do you wanna do it again? How do you even kiss, none of my other friends have had one yet. Are you guys gonna kiss and hold hands and do all the couple things now that you're dating? Wait, are you even dating? Are you-"she suddenly was cut off as I pressed a hand over her mouth to silence the barrage of questions.

"Whoa girl, slow down. To answer your questions, the kiss was…"I couldn't help but give a small sigh and I'm sure I had a dopey look on my face "…the kiss was fantastic. Short, but perfect. And I would love to do it again. As far as the how, I'm not really the best person to ask…that was my first kiss." Natalie interrupted me.

"Wait that was your first kiss? But how? You're so pretty!" she said with complete shock.

I stared back at her, a bit stunned as well. "Um…well, I mean I'm not really that special…but I mean even if I was pretty, I'm the outcast remember?" I said a bit awkwardly. She looked thoughtful, but nodded her head anyway. "Yea, I guess the outcast does pose a bit of problem. But you are very pretty. Or at least, I think you are." She said with a small smile and reached out to pat my hand.

 _You are just the perfect little sweet angel sent from heaven when you aren't being a mouthy 11 year old._ I thought to myself as I squeezed her hand affectionately in return. "Anyway, back to questions, I don't actually know about the dating, so I can't really answer them. I wouldn't mind, but I'm not sure about him…"

And I really wasn't sure. Over the years, Remus had never really publicly dated anyone. I, of course, noticed this fact and always hoped it was because he was secretly pining away for me in return, but let's be honest here, there was no way that was the reason. _Maybe he doesn't like relationships. Or labels? Or maybe he has some huge secret he's hiding? Who knows, as long as he keeps kissing me, I don't really care._

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and looked back at Natalie. She grinned and gave me another hug. "I'm really happy for you Lauren. And I'm sure you'll find out about the dating thing soon enough." She laughed quietly.

I laughed along with her, but I couldn't help the thought that crossed my mind as I thought about having to see Remus tomorrow.

 _What the hell am I gonna say to him?_

/

The next day I woke up feeling a bit giddy still, but some nerves were creeping in. _What do you say to someone you kissed yesterday? Good morning? Hey, wanna make out? Do I just plant one on him? What if he doesn't want to kiss me again? Oh my gosh, WHAT IF HE DOESN'T WANT TO KISS ME AGAIN?_

I had essentially worked myself into a full blown panic by the time I left the common room. As I walked down the corridor, I was suddenly thrown into full déjà vu mode as someone grabbed my arm and pulled me sideways, this time into a classroom. Thinking it was Sirius again, I turned angrily towards the source of the pulling and began to yell.

"Dammit Sirius! I told you not to do that again! What the bloody hell is-"I stopped mid-sentence, surprised to see not an annoyingly handsome boy with a black mop of hair wearing a smirk, but a different annoyingly handsome boy with sandy hair and gorgeous eyes standing in front of me. He was standing with his hands held up as he stared at me, a bit affronted by my sudden yelling. _Thank God I didn't come out swinging like last time_ "Remus! I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was you."

He put his hands down and laughed nervously. "Uh, yea I could tell. Why did you think I was Sirius? Does he often pull you into dark rooms suddenly?" he laughed again. Although he was obviously kidding, I couldn't help the blush that began to creep across my face at what he was implying. "What?! No, of course not, it was just the one time!" I stopped again, realizing I'd only dug myself in deeper.

Remus raised an eyebrow at my statement. "Just the one time? And what, may I ask, happened "just the one time"?" he said with a hint of a smirk.

 _Shit._ "Uh, nothing, he just had to tell me something…"

Remus's smirk got bigger. "Oh really? And what was so important that he had to pull you aside into a dark room by yourself?" The blush that had been slowly growing now shot across my face at rapid speed. _Fuck. What do I say?! I can't tell him that Sirius told me about how Remus feels about me. Shit!_

I stared at Remus panicking as I tried to think of a lie. "Uh…" was all I managed to get out. _Smooth Lauren. You're lying skills are top notch today. So eloquent._

Remus tried to keep a serious face, but his amusement won out as he began to laugh loudly. I couldn't quite join him as I was still embarrassed, but I will admit I enjoyed that I had been the one to make him laugh so much, even if it was unintentional. He straightened up as he quieted down. "You, Lauren Dixon, are quite amusing when you get flustered."

"Yea, well you're a bit of a bastard for making me so flustered on purpose," I said sassily as I crossed my arms, trying to act offended. It wasn't very convincing however, as I couldn't manage to wipe the smile off my face.

Suddenly, Remus got a very devious smirk on his face that, once again, was very reminiscent of Sirius. He took a step towards me and said "I think you like that I'm a bit of bastard."

He took another step toward me and my body unconsciously took a step back as I uncrossed my arms. I didn't get very far before I felt the wall press into my back. Remus kept inching forward until he was right in front of me, his eyes never leaving mine and that damn attractive smirk still on his face. He put his hands out to rest them on the wall on either side of me, effectively boxing me in. Not that I would have moved if I could have.

"Not going to deny it then?" he said quietly. I was very distracted by his closeness, but I tried my best to continue this little flirting thing we had going on. "Nope, I don't like it. Not one bit," I said as seriously as I could.

His smirk got a bit bigger as he leaned in closer, chest almost touching mine. "Really? Not even a little bit?"

"Nope," I said, popping the p for emphasis.

"Hmm, well I guess I'll just have to convince you then." And with that he leaned down and pressed his lips on mine.

 _Holy hell, I have died and gone to heaven,_ I thought as I practically melted into him.

This kiss was completely different than the two last night. The first two had been short and sweet. This one…this one felt like pure electricity. I felt like I didn't have complete control of my hands anymore and I couldn't stop them roaming. First they started on his chest, then they moved up to his shoulders, then to his neck and into his hair. _How the fuck does this guy make his hair so soft?_ My hands spent a while there before they made their way back to his chest and then kept moving south. As they grazed his stomach, he tensed. My mind caught up with my hands and I froze for a second as well. He pulled away and I looked up, afraid I had gotten ahead of myself. _Fuck, too much._ He glanced down to where my hands were still grazing his waist and then back up at me. I was about to pull my hands back before he shot me a quick smile and leaned back in.Except this time, his hands left the wall where they had been beside me and wrapped his arms around my back, pulling me completely against him. _Guess it wasn't too much then,_ was the last coherent thought I had.

/

I walked into the Great Hall about 15 minutes later, feeling dreamy and hoping I didn't look like I had just been snogging in empty class 5 minutes ago. Remus looked presentable at least, so I figured I couldn't be much worse. Remus actually seemed almost…smug. He had a bit of saunter in his step that normally wasn't present. Generally, I didn't like that look on guys, but he pulled it off well. Maybe it was just because I happened to be part of the reason he looked so smug.

I broke my gaze away from Remus as we sat down at the table, where the Marauders sat still partially asleep, Lily looking bright and alert next to them. We both said hello as we reached for plates. As I reached for the toast, my hand brushed Remus's and my gaze shot up to his. He just smirked at me and passed me the piece of bread on top. I blushed at the look on his face and turned back to my plate. _I just snogged the boy 5 minutes ago in the dark and yet I still blush when he barely touches me in public. What the fuck, dude?_ I nibbled on my toast and looked up to peer around the room only to be met by a strange sight.

Lily was staring at me with a look of dawning comprehension tinged with some disbelief. Her eyes flicked between me and Remus, who thankfully seemed unaware of the attention. Suddenly, she stood from the table abruptly and announced "Lauren, I need your help with something for Potions. Come with me yea?" Her gaze told me that I probably should just say yes and get the upcoming interrogation over with. I sighed, shoving the rest of my toast in my mouth in what I'm sure was an attractive gesture and mumbled out a see you. Remus shook his head with a small smile on his face as he took in my charming behavior and said his goodbyes. The other boys barely even raised their heads from where they were almost passed out in their plates.

I met Lily at the end of the table and she grabbed my arm tightly and practically dragged me out the door and down the hall to a deserted bathroom. Once we reached our destination, she released my arm and I rubbed it, feeling a bit bruised from her grip. _Lord have mercy, this girl is deceptively strong! She could try out for fucking Gryffindor beater with that arm strength._

Once she had glanced around to make sure we were alone, she shot a spell at the door to lock it and quickly wheeled on me.

"What in Merlin's name is going on between you and Remus?!" she practically squealed. Surprised as I was at the outright girlishness of her question, I couldn't help the slight blush that stained my cheeks.

"Lily…" I muttered out, a little embarrassed to be talking about it. She put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, don't even give me that shy attitude now, Lauren. You just walked in with Remus looking the smuggest I have ever seen him while you looked completely and utterly snogged. So once again, I'll ask, what is going on with you and Remus?

 _You aren't leaving here until you fess up so you might as well give her the dirty details._ I sighed and began to speak. "Well…first off, I've actually had a, uh…a bit of crush on Remus for while…" I said as I rubbed my face a bit sheepishly. She looked surprised. "Really? How long?"

"Um…since like second year…" _God, that's a lot more pathetic when I have to say it out loud._

Lily's eyes widened, but she masked her shock, thankfully. "Well, I hadn't noticed anything at all until about a week ago so you hid it well."

"Thanks, I guess…Anyway, so him and I have become closer recently and well, the other day Sirius and the other guys figured out my crush and then they told me they thought I should go for it. Sirius even said they thought that Remus liked me back.

Lily smiled at that statement. "Yea, I'd agree with that. Wasn't so obvious before, but like I said, the past week or so there have definitely been signs. Anyway, that still doesn't explain your frazzled appearance this morning.

I cleared my throat. "Well, last night, I somehow managed to find some bravery somewhere and I-I…I just planted one on him!

Lily's jaw dropped and she squeaked out a "WHAT?!"

At this point I couldn't control my words anymore and they just tumbled out. "Yea, so I just ran up and kissed him and then I immediately freaked out and was like "shit, what the fuck am I doing?" so I pulled away and tried to apologize, but then he kissed me! And it was great!" I took a deep breath and continued," until this morning, when I completely worked myself into a panic thinking he would tell me he actually wasn't interested, but then he pulled me into a dark classroom this morning as I was walking to class and I don't actually know what he pulled me in there for, but we ended up snogging for like 15 minutes!" I finished my tale, panting from the amount of talking I'd just done.

Lily started jumping up and down screaming. "OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!" I couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. She finally stopped jumping and began to speak again. "I am seriously so happy for you two! You will be so cute! I can't believe I didn't think of it before!" I smiled shyly, but I was secretly pleased. She continued. "So how was this kissing? I've actually always wondered if Remus was a good kisser or not," she said with a wink.

I blushed, but answered her question. "Well, I don't have anyone to compare it to, but…it was fantastic…God, Lily, it was like I was melting into a puddle this morning! Seriously, I see what all the fuss was about now. And Remus…I'll tell you this, that boy can act a lot more like Sirius than you would think." Lily laughed loudly at that proclamation. "Really? I guess I shouldn't be that shocked. He is a Marauder for a reason after all." I joined in on her laughter and we giggled for a few moments.

After our laughter had subsided, Lily suddenly gave me a curious look. "Wait, you said you didn't have anyone to compare to…was that your first kiss?

I blushed and nodded. _Geez, it's so much worse admitting it to another 17 year old than it is to an 11 year old._

She honestly looked shocked though. "I really can't believe that. I mean, I know you aren't the most popular girl around," I snorted at that understatement of the century. Lily continued on, "but you're gorgeous so I figured it would have happened by now," she said casually.

I blinked in astonishment. "Gorgeous? I don't know about all that…" Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh, hush Lauren. You are literally so pretty, with your long legs and freckles and green eyes. You could give any girl a run for their money in the looks department."

I simply blinked at her again, trying to process this new information. "Well, I'm still not sure I believe that, but thank you…that's sweet of you to say." I said with a small smile. She smiled back and looked at her watch.

"We should go," she sighed as she unlocked the door and began to leave. Before she opened the door, I grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Was it that obvious?" I winced as I asked.

"Was what obvious?" she asked, looking confused.

"The fact that I looked snogged this morning,"

She started laughing again and opened the door. "Honey, every girl was jealous of your morning the moment you walked in."

I groaned and followed her out the door.


	11. Chapter 11-A Different Perspective

_A/N: Hey guys, so I'm trying something different for the chapter. I wanted to try out a chapter from Remus's POV, so this is my best attempt at it. It takes place during the same time Lily and Lauren were talking about Remus in the bathroom in the last chapter. As always, read and review, and be sure to let me know how you felt about the Remus chapter!_

 **Chapter 11: A Different Perspective**

I watched Lauren shove the toast into her mouth in a very unladylike manner. _That probably should be unattractive, but she makes it work._ She said goodbye and walked away from the table, only to be manhandled out the door by Lily. Even though Lily was several inches smaller, she didn't try to fight it, she just went with it, which was one of the things I liked about her. She was so easygoing, it was almost impossible to not to get along with her, which was why I found it so hard to believe that she had remained an outsider all these years.

 _Not to mention she's sweet. And smart. And funny. And bloody pretty on top of it all._ I sighed at bit and rubbed my face exasperatedly. _My god, I've got it bad it for this girl._

Turning back to the table, I reached over and smacked Sirius's head where it was about to fall into his eggs. "Oi! What was that for, you fucker?" he said rubbing his head angrily. James and Peter had sat up at Sirius's outburst and where now looking blearily between us.

I shrugged innocently. "You were about to fall headfirst into your plate. I was simply looking out for you," I said as I took a bite of my own breakfast. James and Peter both snickered a bit before beginning to eat as well. Sirius gave me one last dirty look before he too began to eat. We all ate in silence for a bit before James decided to speak up.

"So, have you made a move on Lauren yet?"

I almost choked and sputtered a bit as I turned to look at him. "Excuse me?"

He turned and looked at Sirius and Peter before he turned back to me again, this time with a smirk on his face and said slowly, as if I was stupid "I said, have you made a move on Lauren yet?"

 _Do they know something happened and I just don't realize it? Were they spying?_ I looked between them, wearing a skeptical look. They all were wearing that same infuriating smirk, but underneath there was curiosity. _No, they don't know anything, they're just nosy bastards. Well, I guess I can tell them….actually….maybe I'll have some fun with this._ I sat up a bit and looked between them again, putting on my best confused face. "And why on earth would I do that?"

I enjoyed the looks of mild panic that crossed their face at my question and the way they all looked at each other. _So…this must have been something they had discussed. They've always got to meddle._ I did my best to keep my face straight as I continued to look at them. They all turned back to me and James spoke again. "Well, we, uh, noticed you guys were pretty close, and I mean, the other night you hugged and kissed her and, well, we thought there might have been something starting there…" he trailed off, rubbing his neck a bit awkwardly.

I shifted in my seat and tried to look uncomfortable. "I mean, I am close to her, she's lovely, but…we're just friends…all of you three are affectionate with her, so I don't see why I'm so special. Why are you all bringing this up now? Did she say something or are you just meddling again?" I looked between them sternly.

It was Sirius who spoke up this time. "C'mon mate, you've got to be bloody kidding me! You can't tell me you aren't interested, we can all see it! And Lauren's great! What do you have to lose?" he said exasperatedly.

 _Wow, they're really invested in this. Maybe I should take it easy on them and tell them….nope, I'm gonna keep it going._ I shook my head. "Guys…I know you mean well, but I've told you before, I don't want you meddling in my love life. I'm fully capable of finding a girl on my own, should I choose to." I raised an eyebrow as I finished my statement, trying to end the conversation.

Sirius wasn't having it. "No, actually you can't, because you have a perfect girl right in front of you who obviously likes you and you are ignoring it. You like her. I know you do." I shook my head again. "Sirius, I really don't know where you're getting this idea."

Sirius got a serious look on his face and nodded. "Ok fine. We'll do this the hard way." He suddenly sat forward and leaned across the table to look at me closely. "I'll believe you if you can look me dead in the eye and tell me that you don't like her…" I opened my mouth to speak, planning to lie through my teeth, but he cut me off "…AND that you wouldn't mind if I asked her out." He smirked. "Since, you don't like her, of course."

My inner wolf immediately bristled at Sirius's words. _Like hell you will._ I fought the growl that threatened to rise from my throat as I glared at Sirius. He continued to sit in front of me with that damn smirk. _Bastard knows exactly what buttons to push._ The wolf's tendency to be possessive was one of the hardest things to control, and Sirius knew that.

After a few moments of anger, I remembered that I actually didn't have to worry about Sirius asking Lauren out, because I already had her. This seemed to appease the wolf and he quickly quieted down and I relaxed. My body must have physically slouched because the smirk fell off of Sirius's face. I smiled at him and cleared my throat. "Well, if you really want to ask her out I guess you can…" His mouth fell open in surprise,"…but I should warn you that she's taken." Now all three of their mouths were open and Sirius sputtered out "Taken?! By who?" I looked down at my plate for a second and then casually said "Me."

There was sweet moment of silence before all three of them began to speak at once.

"WHAT?'

"SINCE WHEN?"

"HOW?"

I held up a hand to cut them off and looked between them before the amusement I'd been holding in escaped and I burst into laughter. After a few moments they joined in. After a few minutes, we all quieted down and Sirius leaned over and smacked my shoulder. "You're a right bastard! You really had us going for minute there! Peter leaned over and began to speak. "So when did this happen? Last night?" All three of them leaned in as I nodded. "Well, go on then!" James urged and I sighed before I thought back to last night…

/

 _ **The night before…**_

As I walked Lauren down to her common room, I couldn't stop my thoughts from racing. _Why isn't she talking? She seems like she's thinking about something very hard. Maybe she's uncomfortable. Or nervous. Why would she be nervous? Maybe she feels the same way I do. Should I ask her out? Make a move?_ I stopped when I realized that she had slowed down. I looked around and realized we had made it all the way to the dungeons. I turned to look at her. She was looking down at the floor, shuffling her feet. _Always so shy._ She then looked up and I met her gaze and held it, trying to judge how she felt about the situation. She seemed to get a bit overwhelmed at my searching gaze and looked down again, only to take a deep breath and look back up, this time biting her lip. This sufficiently distracted me from my thoughts as I looked down at mouth before I looked back up at her eyes and then I began to search her whole face.

 _How in the name of Merlin I didn't notice that face sooner is beyond me._ She really was pretty, but it was in that understated way that seemed to sneak up on you. She had flaws of course. She was tall, almost my height, which I actually liked, but I'm sure it was disconcerting to some. She didn't have much to work with for curves, there was a small gap between her front teeth, and she was shy and awkward to boot. But, the more you were around her, the more those flaws became overshadowed by everything else, and suddenly you noticed how adorable her freckles were, how gorgeous her smile was, and how bright green her eyes were. And looking at those things now in such close quarters, like now, was quite mesmerizing.

Unable to control myself, my hand reached out and cupped her cheek. She sucked in a quick breath in what I assumed was surprise. Suddenly, I was the one gasping a bit as she leaned into my hand, welcoming the gesture. _What does that mean?! Should I make a move? I should go for it…"_ I had just prepared myself to lean forward when suddenly I heard laughter and people approaching and jumped back, remembering that we were standing in the middle of a hallway. I looked at the floor as the people passed, not really paying attention to them. I looked up and cleared my throat. "I guess I'll see tomorrow then…" She just nodded and turned to walk away.

I sighed and turned away myself. _Missed my chance…again…_ I was just about to start wallowing in self-pity when I heard my name being called out. "Remus Lupin!" I turned to see Lauren looking at me, more ferocious than I'd ever seen her. Confused, I began to speak. "Yes? Did you forget something?" She simply started marching toward me. I watched her until she was toe to toe with me. Genuinely concerned now, I opened my mouth to speak again, when suddenly, her lips were on mine.

My mind literally stopped functioning for about 5 seconds before it started up again, going rapid fire. _What is happening oh my god_ _Oh shit I'm supposed to respond!_ I was just about to press forward, when I felt her tense and pull away. She stared up at me and I saw the panic flash across her face. Before she completely freak out, I leaned forward and pressed my lips back on hers. After a brief moment, she responded, and I took a chance and pulled her a bit closer by the waist. I felt her hands land on my chest.

 _I really want to keep this going, but we are in a hallway and I'm gonna get carried away in about 3 seconds_. I pulled back and rested my forehead on hers. My complete disbelief of the situation made me smile and laugh a bit, which she quickly repeated. "Well…that was interesting."

Her little giggle very nearly made me lean back in. "Yea, interesting."

/

"…and yea, so she kissed me and I kissed her back last night and then we parted ways," I finished, looking up to see some surprise with some respect mixed in on the faces of the boys. Sirius breathed out a laugh and leaned back. "Damn. I told her to make a move, but I didn't actually know she had it in her."

"Wait, you told her to make a move? When?!" I asked, confused at how long the guys had known I liked her.

Sirius looked a bit embarrassed that he had blurted that out. "Yesterday morning. BUT," he held up a hand to stop me from speaking when I opened my mouth, "that doesn't matter now. The real question is when are you gonna kiss her again?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows a bit.

I rubbed my neck a bit awkwardly, but couldn't help the pleased look that crossed my face. I cleared my throat. "Well, thing is…I actually already did…this morning…in a dark classroom…and it was more of a snog really…"

Again, there was a moment of silence. Suddenly, all three of them were out of their seats smacking me on the back and yelling.

"Remus Lupin, you dog!"

"Didn't know you had it in you!"

"How'd you get Lauren to agree to that?"

I shushed them all "If you settle down, I'll tell you!" Once they all had gotten back in their seats and settled, I quickly launched into my tale of this morning. Amidst the hoots and hollers at the end, I heard James question and it made me pause, "So are you together now or what?"

I went to answer, but then I stopped myself when I realized I didn't actually know.

Were we dating?

More importantly, did Lauren WANT to date me?


End file.
